The Brothers Grimsby appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. This became a positive presentation.
Overall definition looked good. Though a few wide shots showed mild softness, the majority of the film appeared accurate and concise. I noticed no jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes stayed absent. No print flaws cropped up either.
Though Brothers offered a pretty standard orange and teal palette, at least it could claim to use those hues to parody modern action flicks. Whatever rationale one swallows, the colors looked fine. Blacks were dark and deep, and low-light shots showed good clarity and smoothness. I felt pleased with this fine image.
Given its moderate action orientation, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 opened up more than one would expect from a comedy. Though the film didn’t include as many slam-bang set pieces as a typical action flick, it brought out some good sequences. When the track needed to expand during car chases, gun battles and the like, it used the full spectrum well.
Elements were properly placed and moved about the setting in a convincing way. The surrounds contributed a nice sense of space and involvement. Music depicted positive stereo imaging and the entire presentation offered a good feeling of environment.
Audio quality fared well. Speech was accurate and distinctive, without notable edginess or other issues. Music sounded full-blooded and rich, as the score was rendered nicely. Effects showed good range and definition. They demonstrated solid low-end and were impressive across the board. Ultimately, this was a positive track.
Among the disc’s extras, we get two featurettes. The Making of The Brothers Grimsby runs 11 minutes, 50 seconds and offers info from writer/executive producer Phil Johnston, director Louis Leterrier, producers Todd Schulman, Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham, stunt coordinator Adam Kirley, special effects supervisor Steven Warner, and actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Rebel Wilson, Gabourey Sidibe, Mark Strong, Annabelle Wallis, Ricky Tomlinson, Johnny Vegas, and Isla Fisher.
The piece covers the project’s origins and development, story/characters, cast and performances, stunts, action, and effects, Leterrier’s approach to the material, and locations. Though brief, “Making” offers pretty efficient overview.
During the four-minute, 21-second Elephant in the Room, we hear from Cohen, Leterrier, Baynham, Warner, Sidibe, and prosthetics coodinator Rob Carlisle. This clip examines the elements used to create the scene in which Nobby and Sebastian wind up inside an elephant’s vagina. It’s disgusting but informative.
We also get three Deleted Scenes (8:54) and three Extended Scenes (9:02). Two of the three “Deleted Scenes” actually offer some decent material. “Job Interview” makes Nobby more sympathetic, and “Pump Up Speech” gives his wife more to do; since parts of it appeared in the trailer, it’s a surprising omission. “Cardinal Burns Forensics” provides a running thread in which an expert eats residue to determine its nature; it just gets too disgusting to amuse.
As for the “Extended Scenes”, these work less well. “Elephant Vagina” is awful in the theatrical cut, so more of that nasty footage is a bad thing. “Cargo Plane” and “Bath Tub” lack this intense “ick factor”, but they don’t add anything to the movie.
More cut material shows up via Line-O-Rama. In this two-minute, 21-second compilation, we see alternate bits of dialogue. These do little for me, but fans might enjoy them.
Finally, a Gag Reel takes up two minutes, 34 seconds. This consists of the usual laughs and mistakes, which makes it forgettable.
The disc opens with ads for The Night Before, Pride + Prejudice + Zombies, Ghostbusters (2016), The Bronze, Hello, My Name Is Doris and Sausage Party. No trailer for Brothers appears here.
Consistently crude and disgusting, The Brothers Grimsby delivers lowest common denominator filmmaking. Nary a clever, witty moment arrives in this unpleasant hurlfest. The Blu-ray provides very good picture and audio but includes only minor supplements. This ends up as a terrible movie.