Action Blu-ray Review

'The Brothers Grimsby' Blu-ray Review: When suave meets stupid

July 7, 2016Ben MK



FEATURE: 
Ever since his breakthrough role as Borat, in 2006's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Sacha Baron Cohen has been searching for a movie to match his particular suite of comedic talents. And while he may not have found it with his latest film, The Brothers Grimsby, he at least manages to deliver a few good laughs (not to mention a few bad ones) along the way.

The film itself offers up a kind of what-if scenario — namely, what if the world's most daring super spy had an idiotic brother — casting Cohen as the latter of the two, a loutish drunk named Nobby Butcher, who's been searching for his missing baby brother for the better part of the last 28 years. Little does Nobby realize, however, that his brother (Mark Strong) has become an MI6 Black Ops agent named Sebastian Graves, whose current mission has him hot on the trail of a global criminal organization called the Maelstrom Syndicate.

Things go horribly wrong when Nobby tries to reunite with Sebastian as he tries to prevent the assassination of actress and philanthropist Rhonda George (Penélope Cruz), triggering a chain of events that ends with Daniel Radcliffe being infected with HIV (don't ask) and Sebastian being sent on the run for the murder of the head of the World Health Organization. As a result, it falls on Nobby to help put things right, by aiding Sebastian in evading capture, and, in the process, figuring out what evil scheme Maelstrom is planning.

Directed by Louis Letterier and written by Cohen, Phil Johnston and Peter Baynham, The Brothers Grimsby mines its "Bond meets Borat" premise for all it's worth, sending Nobby and Sebastian from London, England to such destinations as South Africa and Chile, and having them get into increasingly ridiculous situations along the way. Of course, there's some action as well, but none of it compares to the zest the film has in approaching its more graphic sequences, like what happens when two men find themselves trapped inside an elephant's nether regions.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Having only been in theaters mere months ago, one would expect The Brothers Grimsby to look quite impressive on Blu-ray. And thankfully, the film doesn't disappoint, with a razor-sharp and vibrant 1080p image that brings out the detail in faces, clothing and environments, whether it's the rough texture of elephant hide or the multitudes of spectators filling the seats of a crowded soccer stadium. On the audio side, the disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix packs a hefty punch as well, delivering crystal-clear dialogue, music from the likes of Oasis and Blur, and, of course, your standard-issue assortment of fisticuffs, gunfire and explosions.

EXTRAS: 
Sony's single-disc Blu-ray release includes an UltraViolet digital copy and the following Blu-ray extras:

  • Line O Rama (2:21) - The cast improvise their lines.
  • Gag Reel (2:35) - Ridiculousness from the set.
  • Deleted Scenes (8:54) - Three scenes ("Job Interview," "Pump Up Speech" and "Cardinal Burns Forensics").
  • Extended Scenes (9:02) - Three scenes ("Cargo Plane," "Elephant Vagina" and "Bath Tub").
  • The Making of The Brothers Grimsby (11:50) - The filmmakers explain the premise of the movie and praise the cast, as well as talk about the film's mix of humor and action, Sacha Baron Cohen's performance, Louis Letterier's direction, the scope of the production, and the more extreme gross-out scenes.
  • The Elephant in the Room (4:21) - A look at the making of the film's elephant sex scene.

The Brothers Grimsby is available from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as of June 21st, 2016. The Blu-ray features English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Descriptive Audio and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks. The film is presented with English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. The total runtime is 1 Hr. 23 Mins.







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