Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Brothers Grimm’?

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

tomatometer

37

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 177
Fresh: 66 | Rotten: 111

The Brothers Grimm is full of beautiful imagery, but the story is labored and less than enchanting.

29

Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 24

The Brothers Grimm is full of beautiful imagery, but the story is labored and less than enchanting.

audience

47

liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 348,654

My Rating

Movie Info

Two men who have made a career out of spinning remarkable stories find themselves bringing them to life in this inventive fantasy inspired by the creators of some of the world's best-loved fairy tales. Will Grimm (Matt Damon) and his brother Jake Grimm (Heath Ledger) earn their living by traveling from village to village and vanquishing strange supernatural beasts that have been menacing the populace. Or at least that's what their clients think has been happening; as it happens, Will and Jake

Dec 20, 2005

$37.8M

Miramax Films

All Critics (186) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (116) | DVD (34)

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

August 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Slate | Comment
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's kind of cold and it's kind of a mess, but I thought it was a glorious mess and it looks so great and it is so interesting and there is so much going on that I have to recommend it on a very mild level.

August 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Jammed with stuff and all but empty of drama.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The best thing to be said about this expensive but drab wannabe mirthmaker is that it has some of its director's quirky touches.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: USA Today | Comment
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The result is something that might best be called Monty Python and the Holy Mess.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Its energy is impressive, but its effects are scattered.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Wide-eyed, messy, lustrous, rich with enchantment, both giddy and perverse

September 1, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comment
CinePassion

The only redeeming feature is the hope that [director Terry Gilliam's] salary from The Brothers Grimm,/i> will help him set up a good, old-fashioned Gilliam film, in the tradition of his excellent early work.

May 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | Comment
Cinefantastique

Don't expect a fairy tale -- this story is for teens and adults.

July 24, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The movie feels thoroughly like a project Gilliam did halfheartedly, just to stay in the game.

August 11, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

A disjointed, ear-splitting, visually-jarring, mirthless exercise in pandemonium that director Terry Gilliam tries to pass off as family entertainment.

July 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Princeton Town Topics | Comment
Princeton Town Topics

everyone involved in the production appears to have become lost in the dark woods, hoping somehow to find their way out with an incoherent trail of compromises.

July 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film | Comment
Eye for Film

As magical as classic fairy tales may seem to be, a winking Gilliam is out to prove here that to a profoundly superstitious, stressed out early 19th century world, those legends were as frighteningly real as any documentary or even reality show today.

June 2, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Long Island Press

As magical as classic fairy tales may seem to be, a winking Gilliam is out to prove here that to a profoundly superstitious, stressed out early 19th century world, those legends were as frighteningly real as any documentary or even reality show today.

April 19, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Long Island Press

It's hard to imagine whom the filmmakers had in mind for this lavish production.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

This odd stew of fairy tale allusions and Scooby-Doo mystery-solving is rescued by a plot that's just good enough and acting and special effects that, for all the movie's flaws, are dazzling enough to make it worth watching.

November 19, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Brothers Grimm

One of the few (if not the only) movie(s) I have walked out of in theaters. The film wants to go many places, but fails to go to any of them. Extremely boring, don't bother.

November 1, 2011
Eric Alvarez

Super Reviewer

This movie was entertaining yet it lacked something. It does have a lot of potential in it. It was like a mixture of different fairy tales. But somewhat, it just couldn't reach the awesomeness.

May 17, 2011
3niR
Dead Angel

Super Reviewer

The Brothers Grimm Quotes

No quotes approved yet for The Brothers Grimm. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for The Brothers Grimm

November 8, 2006:
We Have a New Sarah Connor!
Remember when we told you that some folks were turning the "Terminator" series into a...

October 23, 2006:
RTIndie: David Lynch, Terry Gilliam Living on the Edge of Hollywood
It's a tough time to be a veteran in the indie game. Why are celebrated auteurs David Lynch and...

What's Hot On RT

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,542 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,379 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,124 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,625 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile