I think that it is more than a coincidence that The Brothers Grimm and Van Helsing were filmed near the same locations and around the same time. Both are train wrecks and are a waste of your viewing time. The Brothers Grimm ended up in my queue for two reasons: Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger. Gilliam and Ledger are not reason enough to watch The Brothers Grimm.
The Brothers Grimm’ story is wretched. Gilliam tries to root the fairy tale world in reality by making the Grimms con men instead of true believers who happen to figure out that *gasp* they are wrong. Gilliam also tries to do his trademark rebellion against the powers that be who try to squash the fantastic world, but it ends up being a jumbled mess of British or American people with fake French, German or Italian accents and inexplicably orange John Boehner skin. Emotionally The Brothers Grimm misses every mark and feels as genuine as a $3 bill. The special effects feel clumsy and dated. I feel like someone wanted to be Tim Burton, but missed the mark completely. The Brothers Grimm is almost two hours, but feels endless. By the end, you’ll agree with the characters that you are cursed.
The Brothers Grimm has only ONE redeeming factor: Lena Hedley. If The Brothers Grimm was actually called Angelika vs. The World, I would watch that movie. She is the only character who didn’t seem to randomly change, and even The Brothers Grimm ruined her by making her the helpless damsel in distress and turning her into a love interest. Booooooooo!
Thankfully plans to make The Brothers Grimm into a tv series did NOT happen, and the completely unrelated and perfect Grimm on NBC exists.