'Brothers' review: Peter Dinklage's crime comedy is low on laughs
Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, and Brendan Fraser—when multiple Hollywood stalwarts come together, your expectations naturally intensify. Add to it the genre (a crime caper), and Brothers initially tempts us with the promise of memorable performances and non-stop entertainment. However, minus the convincing acting, nothing else comes to pass in this disappointing comedy that struggles to make you laugh.
Follows a family bound together by crimes!
The film, which arrived on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, tells the tale of an erratic family, comprising Jady (Dinklage), Moke (Brolin), and their mother Cath (Close). The family is immersed in criminal activities, especially Jady, who's released from prison by a corrupt officer on the condition that he retrieve emeralds Cath stole years ago. Subsequently, the brothers plan this adventure. Will they succeed?
Doesn't have many memorable moments
You invest neither in this supposedly high-stakes heist nor in any of these deranged characters, most of which never rise above being caricatures you'll find in multiple Hollywood films. The dialogues are delivered slowly and everything is so painfully stretched out as if the film is just trying to fill out the runtime. It's robbed of any energy, any vitality.
Throws everything at the wall, but nothing sticks
After spending about 30-40 minutes with Jady and Moke, you keep waiting for the film to get better, but alas, such a moment never arrives. The screenplay seems to overstuff too much in a limited time, and surprisingly, the film still feels shockingly hollow! Toward the end, Brothers tries to compensate with some twists, but by then, you're already past the caring point.
The film's weak writing harms everything
Brothers tries to touch an emotional chord, but thanks to an uneven screenplay, no amount of drama can save it. Also toward the climax, it throws the characters into a chaotic situation so that it can be mined for laughs, but everything is such a mess that nothing works. Director Max Barbakow had a great cast; if only he had a good script, too.
Dinklage delivers the most spirited performance
Dinklage's voiceover keeps the wheels in motion and injects some life into this otherwise drudged film panting for breath. He paints a colorful picture, saying, in the beginning, "Some families have a long line of dentists or lawyers...we had a long line of felons." So, when he introduces Moke as his "partner in crime," we know he means it literally and not idiomatically!
More on the performances
Were it not for Dinklage-Brolin, the film would have fallen apart much sooner than it did. From early-on, it's clear that they're polar opposites—While Jady is more spontaneous and loves to flirt with adventures, Moke is more grounded, calm, and subdued. He's perfectly played by Brolin—you know he's the kind of character to take four steps back when you ask him to take two.
Can skip the film; 1.5/5 stars
I was intrigued by the premise, cast, and the film's concise runtime (one hour, 28 minutes). However, I disappointingly trudged through it, and as always, no amount of star power can bind a film creaking from all corners. At one point, a character says, "This game is a waste of time." I felt the same about the film, too.
