Brothers

With a kind of stacked cast people might've expected a lot more from this movie. I don't believe they thought they made a masterpiece, moreso just a fun loving action comedy. If you aren't judging as a critic and just as a general viewing experience I feel like it was definitely above average these days. Parts were cheesy and crude but in almost an early 2000s feel. I found it to be an easy watch and enjoyed the performances of the actors involved. I can understand the disappointment some people may have with this movie. Some parts are a bit formulaic. I definitely think it's not meant to be art(film) but just a movie(entertainment). Which is perfectly okay, because as much as people want great films there's many people who just want to sit down and watch an entertaining movie.

Many of the most negative reviews that have been posted here have the same keywords, the same key phrases, and criticize the same talking points, as if a single person wrote multiple reviews as a personal vendetta, for whatever reason. This movie is actually pretty enjoyable. It's an intentionally mindless farce comedy with some original ideas, great character actors, and novel plot twists. Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin have natural chemistry and great dialogue to work with. Perhaps they were allowed to improvise some of their exchanges. Brendan Fraser plays his character perfectly, note for note, and seems to be having a great time. M. Emmet Walsh appears in a few scenes, just long enough to remind people that he is a king of character actors. It's a mindless comedy that is intentionally ridiculous, and it works.

So many issues with this movie. Was everyone in this just bored and couldn't get another job, so they lowered themselves to do this? Every one of the actors in this movie are legendary in their own right, but this movie? They just proved that no matter how good of an actor you are, a bad script, bad directing, and low budget can cause great actors to be bad actors.

This movie was almost cartoonish and presented itself as if a child wrote it.

I'm all for silly and mindless comedies ... if they're funny. This movie was not funny. It was definitely mindless and barely cut the mustard at being silly. It was more absurd and overly exaggerated than anything else.

I enjoyed this movie. It was kind of a modern remake of Twins with Schwarzenegger and Devito. It was more violent and raunchy than Twins but that's the modern part. Dinklage and Brolin are both great actors and seemed to have good chemistry on screen together. The story is mostly a road trip adventure with a bunch of run-in vignettes and it kept me entertained.

The 5ish rating it currently has doesn't do it justice. Brothers had its flaws, the worst of which was wasting the great talent of Marisa Tomei who deserved a better character/writing. But it also had genuinely funny to endearing moments that were worth the watch.

The biggest drawback of the film was simple: many of the characters in this film are hyper-exaggerated to the point where you can't take them seriously.

For example, Brendan Fraser, despite being a Hollywood icon with some seriously wonderful films under his belt, was maddening in this. His character had a cartoonish, over-the-top, somewhat childish behavior scheme that just wasn't believable.

I blame this misstep on the man setting the film's tone, director Max Barbakow. This was a massive step backwards from his most recent film "Palm Springs" which was quite enjoyable.

The relationship between Brolin and Dinklage, our titular "brothers," felt forced and, at times, dull throughout the film. Their arguments felt scripted, which is the exact opposite of what you want to feel in a film. I was never invested in their familial development because the writing never evoked those feelings with the audience. In short, the lackluster writing was only exacerbated by the sluggish on-screen chemistry.

It might be worth the watch if you've run through the many streaming catalogs available but shouldn't be at the top of your to-do list.

4/10.