The Brothers Grimm

At their best, Terry Gilliam’s films have a magical quality that transports the viewer to another world, one they may not entirely understand, but which has its own crazy through-the-looking-glass sort of logic. Time Bandits, the Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the Fisher King all have a fever-dream quality to them, where the viewer is swept along through strange, even sometimes nonsensical paths.

The Brothers Grimm could have used more of this. There are nods in that direction, but ultimately, the film feels like a Hollywood action adventure. It’s not quite as bloodless as Van Helsing, but it’s cut from the same cloth. To get a film like this from Terry Gilliam is almost shocking.

There’s still plenty of whimsy and strangeness in the film — the Italian torturer who shadows the Brothers Grimm or the involved 19th century special effects equipment used to create many of their tricks — but it all feels very much like the film any other Hollywood creator would make. Maybe that’s what Gilliam had to do for his career, after Don Quixote went off the rails as badly as it did. Even so, this film feels like an opportunity wasted.

The world can use more of Gilliam’s madness and whimsy. The Brothers Grimm, although it can be fun, doesn’t answer much of that need.

A recommended rental for fans of Terry Gilliam’s work or adult fairy tale fans.

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