Films about the adventures of special intelligence agents have long been popular with the viewer. The famous "knight of the cloak and dagger" James Bond has repeatedly saved the world, but evil does not sleep, and he alone can not cope. The time has come for new heroes from MI-6 to appear.
The film “The Brothers from Grimsby” (directed by Louis Leterrier), released in 2016, is a kind of parody of militants of the spy genre. The main characters of the picture, like their illustrious colleague from MI-6, fight insidious and dangerous enemies. They sacrifice themselves and save the world, but how they do it deserves special attention.
Cheerful guy Nobby
The film The Brothers from Grimsby begins with two parallel stories. The first tells of Norman Butcher, who lives in the English port city of Grimsby. He is the father of eleven children, an ardent football fan and a regular at local pubs, whose visitors more than once had the misfortune to face his peculiar humor. Norman cannot be called a responsible citizen, because he does not have a permanent job and, in various ways, deceives the state in order to receive benefits. But Nobby is a wonderful family man, he loves his wife and children very much, rightly believing that family is the main thing in human life. Outwardly, it seems that Norman is happy with everything, but, despite the cheerful disposition and constant eccentricities, in the soul of Nobby there is a long-standing wound.
Even in childhood, he was separated from his brother, whom he has been trying to find for 28 years. This story is known to the family and all friends of Nobby Butcher, and then one day fate smiled at him. One of his friends told Norman that information had appeared about his brother. It turns out that he will be present in London at the charity event of the famous actress Ronda George. Losing no time, Norman goes to London for a long-awaited meeting with his brother, taking for him as a present tickets for a football match of his favorite team. Indeed, in early childhood, football was a common passion of the brothers.
Special Agent and his mission
The second story, which tells the viewer the film "Brothers from Grimsby", is associated with a special operation of the MI-6 intelligence service. The management and service agents have long been following a certain Whirlwind syndicate. There is accurate information that its members are planning a massive diversion. Find out where and when it will happen, entrusted to one of the best secret service agents - Sebastian Butcher, known by the name of Sebastian Graves. Using all his skills and the latest intelligence technologies, he finds out that danger threatens actress and philanthropist Ronda George, who is about to be killed right during the “Heal the World” ceremony. Agent Graves sets off for the ceremony in London to prevent the syndicate's intentions. Everything is going according to plan, the killer is discovered and is on the fly, but at the crucial moment an unforeseen thing happens.
Meeting brothers
A fraternal hug prevented Agent Graves from completing the mission. It turns out that Sebastian has an older brother, Norman. In childhood, they were not spilled water, and once the formidable agent Graves brother affectionately called Coddy. After the death of their parents, the brothers from Grimsby were separated. The plot of the film tells how Nobby was in a shelter, and Coddy was adopted. Therefore, they were brought up separately, received different education and live in different social strata. The older brother Norman for many years was looking for the younger Sebastian and found at the most inopportune moment for that.
Nobby's "help"
This is followed by a series of real adventures in the film “The Brothers from Grimsby”. Reviews about the picture could correspond to the spy genre, but with a character like Nobby, everything is not going according to plan and turns into a problem. The mission was disrupted, moreover, people suffered, and, as usual, MI6 abandoned its agent. Now a hunt has been declared for Sebastian, and the only one who can help him is a silly, absurd, but loving brother. Norman is trying his best to hide Sebastian so as not to lose anymore, but he somehow doesn’t do it very well, and the brothers are constantly in big trouble. Between the shootings and the change of shelter, they recall their childhood. And, despite all the headache that meeting with Norman brought to Sebastian, he realizes that he is glad to be with his brother again.
Nobby and Coddy Save the World
Former agent Graves decides to continue the mission to clear his name. In MI6, he remained a loyal friend who helps to understand the situation and provides information for further actions. Needless to say, the constant “help” of Norman turns any planned operation upside down?
Nevertheless, the brothers manage to get hold of important information. They find out the name of the leader of the syndicate and its goal - to destroy the world with the help of a terrible virus. The release of the virus into the air should occur at the World Cup, during the game of the teams of England and Germany. This circumstance outrages the inveterate Nobby fan. Secret agent Graves is more concerned with the prospect of a possible death of humanity in the near future. It is clear that it is necessary to prevent a disaster, but how to do this without the help of other agents?
Norman has an action plan, and Sebastian has no choice but to trust the intentions of his brother and his friends. Nobby will no longer allow anyone to take Coddy away from him, and his younger brother, in turn, is not going to lose his newfound family. Therefore, the brothers from Grimsby set off to save the world. The characters of the film Norman and Sebastian will surely save mankind from imminent death, and it is worth seeing to see in what manner they will do it.
About making a movie
The first work on the production of comedy began in 2013 and took place at the Paramount Pictures studio. Then Louis Leterrier was approved by the director of the film. Sasha Baron Cohen contributed to the script of the comedy “The Brothers from Grimsby”, which, of course, is felt by the quality of humor in the film, and Phil Johnston and Peter Bevham helped him.
In February 2014, the creators of the picture moved production to the Columbia Pictures studio. Then it was announced that the film would be released in July 2015, but later the release date was postponed to March 11, 2016. The filming process began in England on June 4, 2014 at a train station in the Epping Forest area of Essex County and lasted six weeks. Then the shooting was already taking place in South Africa.
Grimsby Brothers: actors
Since one of the screenwriters of the film was Sasha Baron Cohen, the image of Norman was written under the scandalous actor for his humor. Casting was announced for the role of special agent Sebastian Graves. After the tests of Mark Strong, the creators of the picture decided to approve him for this role, and on April 24, 2014, the actor joined the creative team of the film “The Brothers from Grimsby”. The main roles were painted, and it remained to choose actors for other characters. So, on the role of the fatal beauty Lina Smith, Annabelle Wallis was approved on April 25 , and on July 9, Penelope Cruz joined the cast. She got the ambiguous role of the famous actress and philanthropist Ronda George.
Interesting Facts
In order to get the most out of his character from the movie “Brothers from Grimsby”, Sasha Baron Cohen attended football matches between the teams “Grimsby Town” and “Cambridge United”. Then, in the Grimsby Town fans' T-shirt, he went to the nearest pub where fans of this football team gathered and talked with them for a long time. The entourage of the city of Grimsby of the eighties was recreated in one of the districts of the port city of Tilbury. The way the filmmakers presented the city outraged many Grimsby residents. After showing the picture, the director and screenwriters received a lot of letters with indignation about this.
Grimsby Brothers: Reviews
Critics of this film, as well as other paintings with the participation of Sasha Baron Cohen, were ambiguous. A positive assessment was received by the director's work, masterfully set tricks and scenes with hand-to-hand combat. The plot of the picture was considered hackneyed, because the technique where a fool interferes in the work of a professional and spoils everything with his help is often used by comedian screenwriters. Despite this, it still works well and causes the audience to laugh.
The black and sometimes overly vulgar humor of the film “The Brothers from Grimsby” is shocking. Criticism, however, is also different in this regard. Some people think that “below the belt” jokes spoil the film. Others are sure that such humor has the right to life and adds piquancy to the film. Moreover, in oral folk art in the form of jokes and tales "for adults" this category of humor has been present for centuries.
Unanimity is manifested in one thing - people with a fine mental organization are not recommended to watch the film “The Brothers from Grimsby”.
Reviews from the audience are no less contradictory. Some describe the mass of positive emotions and homeric laughter caused by watching comedy. There is also a category of dissatisfied viewers who believe that the time allotted for this picture was wasted and humor left an unpleasant aftertaste. To summarize the general opinion, you can use one of the comments left after watching the film: "The comedy is really funny, but if the" salty "humor annoys you, it will not bring positive emotions."
In conclusion, I want to say everything to everyone who still decides to watch comedy, wish them a pleasant viewing and a good mood, especially since the main characters - the brothers from Grimsby, the actors, the director and the entire creative team of the film tried very hard.