Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Admirable film.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Everyone needs to laugh and this movie is hilarious!

I recently watched an online survey video on Youtube about the stars who had - in their words - 'lost their shine.' I was surprised to see that Sacha Baron Cohen's name was on there, largely to do with 'The Brothers Grimsby' (or just 'Grimsby' in some cases). I saw the trailer in the cinema and it looked pretty funny (doesn't it always?), but couldn't see that it was destined to bomb.It's sort of a 'buddy-cop' film where a pair of mismatched individuals have to work together in order to solve X, Y or Z. In this case, we have a pair of mismatched spies - one (Baron Cohen) is a slob from Grimsby, while the other is his long lost younger brother who is now a genuine suave, super-spy (Mark Strong). Now, I'm a big fan of the pair of them and was looking forwards to seeing how they interact on the big screen, plus I own pretty much ever Sacha Baron Cohen film to date. However, now I've watched it, I can see why it didn't do him any favours.I'd say that the first third is probably the best section of the film. It is genuinely funny and there were a fair few 'laugh out loud' moments. It centres on the pair of brothers meeting and the set-up for their mission established. And, yes, Baron Cohen and Strong do play off each other well (in fact, I swear there are some shots which had to be cut short due to Mark Strong trying not to laugh at his co-star's antics!). The film feels like an extended episode of 'Shameless' (only with more stylised gunplay) and works best when it's actually set in Grimsby itself (although I do wonder what the real residents of Grimsby will make of the way they're being portrayed on screen!).Unfortunately, the action moves away from the titular town and begins to traverse the globe. This is where things start unravelling. There are still funny moments and many do land, however it's not half as slick as its opening. This wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the fact that the film includes between 1-3 (depending on your opinion) moments that are simply too over-the-top. I was happy to suspend my disbelief in order to make the plot/gags work, but sometimes things go too far - as if Baron Cohen is trying too hard to shock in order to get laughs. These bits stick out as annoying and just cringe-worthy in a film which is actually reasonably solid.I enjoyed the film, simply because more parts of it worked that didn't. However, as I mentioned, due to those few scenes which just stick in your mind for all the wrong reasons, I can see how it won't have helped Sacha baron Cohen's star remain sparkling.

Sacha Baron Cohen's shtick has always been pushing the envelope and shock humour. He got everyone's attention with Borat. However, his successive attempts to do the same with Bruno and The Dictator showed that the gimmick was quickly wearing out. It could not be made any clearer with this film.So, the story. Nobby (Cohen) and Sebastian (Mark Strong) are estranged brothers having been separated after Sebastian gets adopted by an upper-middle class family, leaving Nobby to be brought up in the rough, working class environment of Grimsby.Twenty-eight years pass, and Sebastian has become a top-ranking MI6 assassin, while Nobby has raised a family with his girlfriend (Rebel Wilson). He's a gormless football hooligan, and a good friend of everyone in his chavvy neighbourhood. Nobby longs to be reunited with his brother, when he gets tipped off that Sebastian is in London trying to prevent an assassination attempt. Penelope Cruz is a humanitarian advocate hosting a philanthropic event in aid of a Middle Eastern boy with AIDS. Sebastian tries to complete his mission, but is distracted by Nobby, who finds him and embraces him, causing him to lose his aim, ruining the mission.Sebastian is then forced to go on the run as MI6 now believe him to be a traitor. Nobby agrees to help him fulfil his mission in clearing his name, and from there, it's really a below-the-belt juvenile spy film, with crude humour throughout.The jokes are fairly predictable, between Nobby's dysfunctional family to some of the grossest scenes Cohen has brought to the screen, and that's saying a lot. Let me put it this way, I'll never look at an elephant the same way again.The 'odd couple' dynamic has been done to death and there's no real surprises in this film. Some of the CGI is utterly atrocious. There's a scene that contains Donald Trump (well, actually, the photoshopped head of Donald Trump, and that's kind of my point) It was the tackiest bit of editing I've ever seen in a studio produced film.Cohen has tired out this shock humour technique in his work, and Grimsby is an uninspired spy comedy that shows us that he is in dire need of a new direction in his career.

GRIMSBY is a real mixed bag of a movie with some elements I loved and some I absolutely hated. That I liked anything about it at all is a surprise given that it was written by and stars Sacha Baron Cohen, an actor I find painfully unfunny and who tends to mar everything in which he appears. He tones it down a bit and even plays a mildly likeable character here, but he still can't resist throwing in lots of ridiculously crude humour which you'd expect in the playground; the poison scene and the elephant scene in particular are just stupid and crass and an example of everything I hate about modern comedy. It's a pity, as elsewhere this satirises working class life very well, with the depiction of Cohen's home life spot on. Elsewhere, the film's action elements are very good; I love Mark Strong and always thought he should have got the Bond job over Daniel Craig and he plays up to that persona here. There's some first person action courtesy of the HARDCORE HENRY director which is spot on, and even a Scott Adkins fight scene worth watching for alone. The rest is hit and miss, raising a smile here, repulsing the viewer at other times.