Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare

Brothers Jake and Will Grimm, renowned collectors of folklore, have made a career out of traveling from village to village pretending to rid them of "enchanted" creatures. Their bluff is called, howev...( read more  read more... )er, when they are forced by Napoleon's French government to investigate a haunted forest where girls have been disappearing mysteriously. What they discover leads to a series of adventures involving an actual evil (and immortal) sorceress that mirrors that of mythology and the fables that the Brothers Grimm would eventually become famous for.

Flixster Users

47% liked it

348,654 ratings

Critics

37% liked it

175 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Release Date: August 26, 2005

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DVD Release Date: December 20, 2005

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Flixster Reviews (15,555)


  • August 27, 2009
    It was like Sleepy hollow, Shriek and Fear and loathing in Las Vegas rolled into one but without being that good. I don't think Gilliam realises but people act a certain way in his films, maybe its his doing, I'm not sure but its annoying. Yes he is a python but that doesn't make...( read more) you John Cleese!! Aw, it was ok, I thought everyone did very well, i just expected more from such a great director!
  • June 16, 2009
    "Eliminating Evil Since 1812"

    Will and Jake Grimm are travelling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires genuine courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.

    REVIEW</
    ...( read more)center>
    The Brothers Grimm seeks to give us the "real story" behind the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales such as Hansel & Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel without compromising the mystical or enchanted aspects in each of those stories.

    Just like the fairy tales represented in the storyline, to truly enjoy this film requires a temporary suspension of disbelief; but in the end what makes this a satisfying experience is that, along with the characters in the story, we enter into this tale as skeptics and walk out the other side as believers.

    This movie was filmed in true Terry Gilliam fashion and features the kind of fantastic creatures and special effects we have already seen in Time Bandits and Baron Munchausen. The PG-13 rating has little to do with strong language or sexual content (both noticeably lacking) but some of the special effects scenes may be too scary for young children.
  • June 3, 2009
    I haven't seen very many of Gilliam's movies, but he is definitely eccentric. He brings a strange sense of humor out of his performers and relishes the darkness of the Grimm tales. This is not supposed to be a history lesson, but the one thing I learned was the time period when...( read more) the brothers Grimm lived. It was a little less than 200 years when they lived and worked. I had assumed they had gathered the German folktales earlier. Anyways, Monica Bellucci's beauty was hardly utilized in her role of the evil queen. Storemare was very broad and over the top in his portrayal as an Italian torturer. Pryce was a hot head Napoleon type with a perverse sense of French taste. I agree with another review I saw that the tone or purpose of the movie seems to keep shifting. It never quite settles.
  • December 22, 2008
    Terry Gilliam once again puts his post modern spin on Gothic fantasy, and once again it's very much a matter of taste as to whether you are going to enjoy it. The Brothers Grimm are reinvented as a pair of con artists who set up fake hauntings and ride into town to banish the dem...( read more)on for a modest fee (kind of like a Medieval Ghostbusters). Until one day they are caught and sent to investigate a series of child kidnappings and realise that it's the real deal. All of Gilliam's trademark touches are here, including a lot of humour, some gorgeous production design and a quirky spin on existing myths and fairytales. It's kind of like a buddy action version of his heroic failure The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen and Heath Ledger and Matt Damon have some real comic chemistry as the bumbling anti-heroes, complete with amusing Spinal Tap-esque English accents. The plotting is a lot tighter and more focused than Munchausen though, and it has a lot more narrative momentum. It does lose a little impetus for the climax as it's a little overly convoluted and relies too much on the bad guys; Peter Stormare hams it up mercilessly and despite looking the part of the fairest of them all, Monica Bellucci is actually pretty bad as the evil queen. But it is very entertaining and certainly did not deserve the unwelcoming reception it got from some critics. If you liked the similar Sleepy hollow, I see no compelling reason why you shouldn't like this too.
  • July 13, 2008
    One of the coolest and most imaginary and most original action-adventures in years. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are fantastic. They are such an exceptional and enjoyable buddy team with amasing chemistry. Peter Stomare is marvelous. An enchantingly fun good time. Frequently funny...( read more) and endlessly thrilling. You'll be thrilled and amused by every inch of this terrific movie. A magnificent mixture of fantacy, action, horror and buddy comedy. Great action, great laughs, great chracters, great speacial effects and great storytelling. It's pure magic. A wild ride of extroadinary genious from Director, Terry Gilliam. There is no way why you shouldnt enjoy this movie.
  • November 19, 2009
    The gingerbread man stole the show.
  • November 18, 2009
    Since I saw the trailer I always wanted to see the movie, it was ok. Only Ok
  • November 13, 2009
    A me le favole mi piacciono sempre tanto.
    E poi qua ci sono i fratelli Grimm, Terry Gilliam, Heath Ledger, insomma, ci siamo capiti.
  • November 12, 2009
    Great story and acting!
  • November 4, 2009
    Wow!!! amazing settings and usage of colour and the use of cgi just breath taking.

Critic Reviews


February 7, 2006
Kurt Loder, MTV

It's a slog, an out-of-control fantasy that's strangely unenchanting and, in the end, rather tiresome. full review

August 29, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

The Brothers Grimm has enough haunting, fairy-tale imagery for 10 movies, but no emotional kick to drive those images home. full review

August 26, 2005
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Its energy is impressive, but its effects are scattered. full review

August 25, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

If The Brothers Grimm flies apart like a badly designed airplane (and it does), it still has more going for it than most of the movie fare this summer. full review

August 25, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Brothers Grimm is a work of limitless invention, but it is invention without pattern, chasing itself around the screen without finding a plot. full review

August 15, 2005
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Fails to reinvent its Grimm yarns and only cursorily investigates the relationship between truth and fiction as it rumbles from one farcical scenario to another. full review

August 11, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

It's Gilliam's chance to run amok, and watching him do it is eye-popping fun. full review

View more The Brothers Grimm reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • michellefortuin
    July 19, 2009
    Loved it! I like movies with fairytale influences. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger were both very good I think. We all miss Heath!

    But back to the movie itself.. The story was strong, original, and as I said I loved the fairy tale things in it.
  • xxkissmekate
    September 9, 2007
    I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Other then it being slightly morbid (which was their way) it was so fun to see all the different fairytales combined! I love the shot in the woods with Little Red, and the way her bright hood stood out among the golden leaves! So awesome. Plus, Heath and Matt aren't too horrible to look at throughout the whole film. But it annoyed me how it was never made clear who got with Angelica...??
  • uleea
    July 5, 2007
    boring boring boring..
  • terris85017
    May 19, 2007
    (Aug. 2005) Great Director Terry Gilliam (Monty Python fame!) Some of my favorite all time fairy tale stories.......Heath Ledger & Matt Damon are great as the creative brothers...who bullshit their way through endless "village fears" & encounter horrors of legend! FUNNY, TOUCHING!
  • pinkangelbear
    February 10, 2007
    The film werent bad, but was it just me!
    But most of the time i swear Kiera Knightly was in it but then realised it was Lena Headey! she looked alot and sounded alot like her in parts of the film (sorry for bad spelling).
  • jbpelican
    August 18, 2006
    Was nothing like i expected, The sham demon hunters are tested when they encounter vivid pieces of well known fairy tales. It is truly like being in some kind of dream, with nothing making much sense, but with it all coming together in the end.

    Justins Best Bit: The big bad wolf.

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The Brothers Grimm Trivia


  • What actor played in A Knight's Tale, The Brother's Grimm, Casanova, Lords of Dogtown, and 10 Things I Hate About You?   Answer »
  • Which movie plays Matt Damon and Heath Ledger like brothers?  Answer »
  • Which actor has starred in these 3 films...A Knights Tale, Casanova, and The Brother's Grimm?   Answer »
  • In what movie does Heath Ledger almost kiss his onscreen brother Matt Damon?  Answer »

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