Brothers

So many issues with this movie. Was everyone in this just bored and couldn't get another job, so they lowered themselves to do this? Every one of the actors in this movie are legendary in their own right, but this movie? They just proved that no matter how good of an actor you are, a bad script, bad directing, and low budget can cause great actors to be bad actors.

This movie was almost cartoonish and presented itself as if a child wrote it.

I'm all for silly and mindless comedies ... if they're funny. This movie was not funny. It was definitely mindless and barely cut the mustard at being silly. It was more absurd and overly exaggerated than anything else.

When twin brothers Jady and Moke Munger were children their mother abandoned them; fleeing the law with a bag of stolen emeralds. The boys grow up and true to the family become criminals. When a job goes wrong Jady ends up in prison while Moke goes straight and gets married. Jady manages to get out early by telling a corrupt guard, who is the son of a corrupt judge, that he can get the emeralds. Reunited the brothers find themselves of a madcap road trip to find the emeralds before the guard catches up with them.

This is the sort of film one watches once, finds fairly amusing but know won't bother watched again. The plot is simple and delivers some good laughs even if it is a bit lowbrow at times. The acting is solid; Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin have a good chemistry as the bickering brothers and the supporting cast, which includes plenty of well-known actors is decent even if they have all been in better things. Some of the special effects are distinctly unimpressive; it is a shame too many films these days think average CGI is better than physical effects. Overall I'd say it was funny enough but is far from a must watch.

The biggest drawback of the film was simple: many of the characters in this film are hyper-exaggerated to the point where you can't take them seriously.

For example, Brendan Fraser, despite being a Hollywood icon with some seriously wonderful films under his belt, was maddening in this. His character had a cartoonish, over-the-top, somewhat childish behavior scheme that just wasn't believable.

I blame this misstep on the man setting the film's tone, director Max Barbakow. This was a massive step backwards from his most recent film "Palm Springs" which was quite enjoyable.

The relationship between Brolin and Dinklage, our titular "brothers," felt forced and, at times, dull throughout the film. Their arguments felt scripted, which is the exact opposite of what you want to feel in a film. I was never invested in their familial development because the writing never evoked those feelings with the audience. In short, the lackluster writing was only exacerbated by the sluggish on-screen chemistry.

It might be worth the watch if you've run through the many streaming catalogs available but shouldn't be at the top of your to-do list.

4/10.

There's a lot of pretty scathing reviews here. I read some before I started this and set my sights appropriately low. Maybe that's why I kinda liked it?

There was a lot of what people complained about - inconsistent tone, crass humor, slapstick scenes, overly stupid characters doing stupid things, predictable outcome.

Yes, all of the above.

I still laughed at a lot of it. Probably because the main actors played their parts to perfection. No matter the reason, if you laugh and enjoy something, go with it and don't think about why you liked it.

This is one of those movies. Don't overanalyze it. Don't worry about what others think. Just go with the ride.

Many of the most negative reviews that have been posted here have the same keywords, the same key phrases, and criticize the same talking points, as if a single person wrote multiple reviews as a personal vendetta, for whatever reason. This movie is actually pretty enjoyable. It's an intentionally mindless farce comedy with some original ideas, great character actors, and novel plot twists. Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin have natural chemistry and great dialogue to work with. Perhaps they were allowed to improvise some of their exchanges. Brendan Fraser plays his character perfectly, note for note, and seems to be having a great time. M. Emmet Walsh appears in a few scenes, just long enough to remind people that he is a king of character actors. It's a mindless comedy that is intentionally ridiculous, and it works.