Grimsby Movie Review

Released: 24th February 2016

Length: 83 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Louis Leterrier

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Ian Mcshane, Isla Fisher, and Annabelle Wallis

Grimsby (Also known as The Brothers Grimsby in the United States) is the latest in a long line of rude and crude comedy films from Sacha Baron Cohen; a mildly entertaining diversion that doesn’t do much to excel in any major way.

Grimsby follows Norman “Nobby” Butcher (Sacha Baron Cohen, a wild at heart British northerner who stumbles across his long lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) who just so happens to be a secret agent for MI6. After Nobby screws up one of Sebastian’s missions, the duo is placed on the run as they must uncover a secret plot and clear their names. The plot is a litter of predictability mixed with conveniences that really take all the thought and cleverness out of the film’s sails. For example after one particularly excruciating scene involving poison darts, our characters find (in the exact same room no less) a large crate that will take them to the next location which happens to be in place for the plot to rumble on. If we already know what will occur it’s often easy to see some of the jokes coming, and most of them are repetitive innuendos which wear out their welcome quickly.

Grimsby’s characters fall back on common archetypes to engage the audience, most notably the no-nonsense superspy mixed with the clumsy, idiotic sidekick; they’re relatively simplistic and do play off each other well. The bond between the two brothers is expressed through several flashbacks but these don’t give much in the way of emotional involvement; the film instead chooses to focus almost entirely on the comedy which leads to a lack of balance that plagues the proceedings. Really though, Grimsby doesn’t concern itself with its characters and this is clearly evident with the minuscule roles given to Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz. It feels like they were thrown in to give the film a bit more marquee value and they don’t contribute to the comedy in any way whatsoever. The film also has a wide array of cultural references but unlike Deadpool where almost every one of these was placed and delivered brilliantly, here it feels like they were thrown in as an afterthought.

The presentational effects that comprise Grimsby’s action sequences could be better; the editing is too frantic with dozens upon dozens of cuts thrown at the audience with reckless abandon in a desperate attempt to heighten the tension. They also make liberal use of the first person camera which isn’t all that original or inventive. Coming off as pretty lacklustre, the film instead falls back on its satirical take on hooliganism which is at best, capably amusing. The soundtrack also has a strong authenticity to it, using several British tracks from the past decade or so to convey the characteristics of Nobby’s lot fairly well.

Grimsby is one of those films which will quietly pass through without much attention and rightfully so. It’s good for a few laughs but that’s where the positives end. There’s little to see here that you won’t find in any other film from Cohen. I strongly suggest tempering your expectations if you’re expecting something worth putting up your time and money to see.

Rating: 2/5 Stars