The Brothers Grimsby (2016/Sony Blu-ray)

Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: B

As of the time of this review, early Summer 2016, Hollywood hasn't been offering us up too many memorable comedies this year. 2016 started out with the underrated yet hilarious Dirty Grandpa (reviewed elsewhere on this site), then a heap of so-so entries (the recent Duane Johnson/Kevin Hart comedy Central Intelligence), throwaway sequel comedies (Zoolander 2), and a few terrible and overrated films such as Keanu - the most disappointing and unfunny comedy I've seen in years. The shining star in the popcorn munching abyss is The Brothers Grimsby - a film that makes sure you will never look at elephants the same way again.

Perhaps overshadowed by the success of the excellent yet raunchy superhero comedy Deadpool, The Brothers Grimsby continues the tradition of Sacha Baron Cohen's trademark filthy humor seen in his past films such as Bruno, Borat, and The Dictator only applies it to the ''Super Secret Agent'' formula. Think Kingsman meets Ace Ventura and you kind of capture the tone of this film. This is definitely not a movie for the kids, there were quite a few moments in this film both disgusted and shocked me (like the much maligned and forgotten Tom Green film Freddy Got Fingered), but the fact of the matter is that the jokes work. It doesn't rely solely on this type of humor and switches it up a bit, even channeling some classic comedic bits of dramatic irony that reminded me of Pink Panther or Austin Powers at some moments. Also thrown in are impressive action sequences that are on par with anything else I've seen in recent memory, even the recent James Bond outing, SPECTRE.

Starring Baron Cohen and the always on point Mark Strong and directed by Louis Leterrier (who did the first Now You See Me, the so-so 2010 Clash of the Titans reboot and Marvel's 2008 The Incredible Hulk) this film not only literally had me gasping for air I was laughing out loud so hard in certain sequences (the elephant scene), which rarely happens to me, but impressed me with its finely tuned filmmaking. The action is fast paced and stylized and the production value is on par with any other big Hollywood epic. Written by Baron Cohen, I would suggest this film to fans of action pictures AND the comedy crowd as I feel it delivers on both fronts.

Sure to be a cult classic in a few years, the film is now finding it's way onto high definition Blu-ray thanks to Sony and doesn't disappoint in terms of superior home video quality. The film also features an all-star cast which includes Penelope Cruze (Vanilla Sky), Isla Fisher (Now You See Me and Cohen's real life wife), Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect), and Ian McShane (Deadwood, Game of Thrones) to name a few!

Separated as kids, Nobby (Cohen) and Sebastian (Strong) have grown into two very different men. Nobby is a family man of 11 children and host to a naughty Girlfriend (Wilson) who he lets his freak flag fly with and he gets himself in trouble everywhere he goes in England. There's only one thing this alcoholic drug addict of a father is missing: his little brother, Sebastian, who is now MI6's deadliest assassin that even gives James Bond a run for his money. Having just uncovered plans for an imminent global terrorist attack and wrongfully accused of an assassination attempt on a public figure (Cruze), the two brothers must work together to save the world despite being complete opposites.

Presented on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a well-recorded, lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track (48kHz/16-bit), the film looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray disc with no complaints. Also included is an Ultraviolet copy.

Extras include:

The Making of The Brothers Grimsby

The Elephant in the Room

Line-O-Rama: Hilarious Outtakes

Blooper Reel

Deleted & Extended Scenes

This is a must-see comedy for fans of Cohen's humor or for those who simply want to relax and watch something off the wall that's both action packed and comedic. Don't believe the bad ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for this one!

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/