Just perfect...

hyped garbage

good back-story, and good acting

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Terry Gilliam and Grimm fairy tales mix incredibly well! Which is not surprising knowing the original versions of those tales were much darker before Disney made them kid friendly. This is a very interesting take on the Brothers Grimm and the tales they wrote. It blends dark fantasy with comedy and adventure really well. This is not based on one particular story, but rather includes elements and characters from many stories, and even more references and winks to other stories that are seemingly happening/happened in the same universe! The atmosphere is very good, dark and gothic, the characters are likable and the main story gripping. Overall it's a very enjoyable fantasy movie that is too often overlooked and underrated!

This film is based on the tales of the Grimm Brothers, but also makes a completely fictional portrayal of the brothers who, in real life, were German poets, scholars and linguists, who dedicated themselves to collecting traditional fables from the center of Europe. So the first step in understanding the film is to realize, from the outset, that its pure fiction, based on the mere existence of these two brothers. Here, they're two gamblers, who make money cheating the villagers, casting out witches and demons that don't exist. So their first reaction, when they're called upon to investigate a truly magical phenomenon in which several girls have disappeared, is of disbelief, thinking that they're dealing with an elaborate scold.The screenplay is clever, in the way it approaches Grimm's fairy tales and rebuilds them, but it lost from the middle, with some ideas and options looking absurd. Equally positive was the performance of Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in the lead roles. The two actors are versatile, strong and worked well together. However, the same cannot be said of Lena Headey, who seemed to me a bit artificial and cliché. Peter Stormare is the most humorous actor and the most remarkable moments of humor are made by his character, an Italian torturer at the service of Napoleonic officials. Jonathan Pryce is the French general and was perfectly capable of becoming contemptible. Good costumes and sets, clever cinematography, good use of colors and light and shadow games make the film visually appealing and beautiful.So, this movie is good and has several quality values. But the flaws in the story, the several moments when the plot is lost and becomes idiotic, overturn the attempts of this film to become truly iconic.

Even though this is supposedly a historical fiction film, its fantasy undertow drains all of the comic relief into something absolutely stupid. The plot of the story makes no sense and it took me quite some while to figure out who was who in this movie. And to be honest, this is a story about legendary icons of folklore such as Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Red Ridding Hood, etc, but it brought my hopes rapidly down. Another reason being that given Jacob is the oldest boy in the Grimm family after his father died, he would be more likely logical than Wilhelm. Vis-a-vis, Jacob shouldn't be obsessed with magic beans. Also, my hopes were shot down once again when THE ONLY FEMALE LEAD IN THE CAST turned about to be a random girl named Angelika rather than Henriette Dorothea Wild, Wilhelm Grimm's actual wife.So, when all is said and done, don't watch this movie.

Back when I was a teen there was a Cinerama production of The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm that starred Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. It was a delightful film that had some biographical material, but was more an excuse to put on screen, three of their collected fairy tales. Even adults could enjoy the film and one can still enjoy it today, but it ought to be seen on the big screen.Half a century later and we get an entirely different view of the brothers in The Brothers Grimm with Heath Ledger and Matt Damon as the folk lore scholars. But reading the Wikipedia article on the brothers you will not get the view that this film gives us of them as a pair of 19th century con artists. These two make a living off the fears and superstitions of a lot of peasants. They go to places there rumor has it a local curse is on the place. The two with a pair of dimwitted helpers put on a show for the locals with methods that the Ghostbusters would envy. In fact up to this point the film reminds me of a combination of The Ghostbusters and The Lavendar Hill Mob.But one fine day Damon and Ledger come upon a village with a real curse and an enchanted forest. Since they are folklorists they have to call on a store of accumulated knowledge to defeat the forest demons.50 years later with much improved special effects with computer graphics we have a film more likely to scare and no doubt people go to films to be scared. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger head a fine cast and certainly the time and place of a disunited Germany occupied by Napoleon's troops is better displayed.Still the fantasy of the Cinerama film is to be preferred.