PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Grimsby (Blu-ray) (2016)

Grimsby (Blu-ray) (2016)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD
Released 22-Jun-2016
Cover Art

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Action Comedy	Additional Footage-Line O Rama Outtakes-Gag Reel Deleted Scenes Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Elephant in the Room
Rating
Year Of Production	2016
Running Time	83:14
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Louis Leterrier
Studio Distributor	SONY Pictures Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Sacha Baron Cohen Rebel Wilson Mark Strong Isla Fisher Penélope Cruz Scott Adkins Gabourey Sidibe
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring
RPI	$29.95	Music	David Buckley Erran Baron Cohen

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    It’s difficult to defend 2016’s Grimsby as a legitimate motion picture, as it’s moronic and gross in equal measure, but this is entirely by design. As a piece of brainless entertainment, Grimsby delivers with assurance, though it caters to a specific niche audience. It’s very much in line with the previous works of the rambunctious Sacha Baron Cohen, retaining the vulgar, disgusting, politically incorrect tone previously beheld in Ali G Indahouse, Borat, Brüno and The Dictator. Indeed, anybody expecting a tasteful comedy has come to the wrong place. But even though Grimsby is silly, it’s also a very, very funny movie which will prove to be enormously entertaining for those in the right mindset. And in an age where ballsy R-rated comedies are a rare commodity, it’s relieving to witness a movie as uproarious and gleefully bold as this.

    Separated as kids following the death of their parents, brothers Nobby (Cohen) and Sebastian (Mark Strong) follow decidedly different life paths in subsequent years. Nobby is a dim football hooligan with a lusty girlfriend (Rebel Wilson) and eleven children, living in the working-class town of Grimsby in Northern England. In stark contrast, Sebastian is a suave and accomplished spy for MI6. After 28 years apart, Nobby learns of Sebastian’s whereabouts, and inadvertently interrupts his brother as he tries to thwart an assassination attempt on philanthropist Rhonda George (Penélope Cruz). Sebastian is targeted for capture and wants nothing to do with Nobby, but has no choice but to return to Grimsby with his deadbeat brother to try and evade both the authorities and various assassins. In over their heads, Sebastian teams up with Nobby to stop a devastating terrorist attack, while Nobby tries his hardest to build a proper relationship with his brother.

    Grimsby plays out like a Jason Bourne or James Bond adventure, complete with espionage and globe-trotting, but just so happens to feature Cohen as a bumbling football hooligan in addition to a more seriously-minded spy character. To punch up the visual style and properly handle the movie’s non-comedic elements, Cohen brought in French action director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me, Transporter 2), who bestows the material with his agreeable brand of energy and panache. Action scenes are thrilling and well-choreographed, and the picture moves at a breathless pace - it’s consistently watchable and never boring. It’s certainly the most technically accomplished of all Cohen’s comedies to date. It’s enjoyably brisk at around 80 minutes, closing before outstaying its welcome.

    Naturally, your mileage may vary for a flick like Grimsby, since it relies on gross-out moments and offensive jokes for the majority of its belly-laughs, and concepts like good taste are tossed out the window. This isn’t an especially witty comedy per se, and it is largely forgettable on the whole (save for a few repugnant sequences that may haunt you), but the jokes come thick and fast, and the hit-to-miss ratio is astonishingly high. On top of the many puerile set-pieces (one of which involves a lot of elephant ejaculate), there are plenty of pop culture jokes to keep things topical, including sly digs against FIFA and the Fast and Furious franchise, and a gag at Bill Cosby’s expense. Offensive material is also thrown in for good measure, with jokes about AIDS and leukaemia, and other politically incorrect material which had this reviewer howling with laughter.

    Cohen again shows that he knows no boundaries, carving out yet another distinctive comedic persona and absolutely going for broke. He’s well-matched with Strong, who’s a terrific pick for the straight man of the show. Despite looking so serious, Strong is game for anything, no matter how utterly infantile the material may be. And especially because of Strong’s prior movies, it’s all the more hilarious to see him doing comedy like this. Aussie actress Rebel Wilson also makes a positive impression, while Gabourey Sidibe manages to get a few extra laughs. Even action star Scott Adkins gets a small look-in here as a terrorist, which is an inspired choice, though Cohen’s wife Isla Fisher seems barely conscious whenever she’s on-screen as one of Sebastian’s colleagues.

    For all intents and purposes, I should probably hate Grimsby. Critics were very unkind to the film during its theatrical run, dismissing it as infantile and offensive, but I cannot deny that it quite simply worked for me. It may be low-brow, but I still laughed, and it has strong replay value since it’s easy to miss jokes the first time around due to the speed at which some of the gags are tossed out. Conservative viewers, or the easily offended, should most definitely steer clear of Grimsby, but if you generally enjoy Cohen’s at times repugnant brand of humour, this is a movie for you. Be sure to stick around throughout the credits; there are mid-credits and post-credits scenes.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Grimsby may be a $35 million comedy, but it looks thoroughly spectacular on Blu-ray, sporting one of the strongest high definition transfers in recent memory. Roadshow present the movie in 1080p framed at its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, utilising the MPEG-4 AVC video codec, and the results are virtually flawless. Say whatever you will about the movie itself, but it’s impossible to say a negative thing about this Blu-ray presentation.

    Grimsby was shot digitally using the Arri Alexa, which makes for a distinctly cinematic look. A number of digitally-filmed movies do look too smooth in my eyes, but I had no such issues with this presentation, which is crisp and richly-textured from the first frame to the last. No matter the environment, there’s always an impressive amount of detail on clothing and faces. Sharpness is above-average, with magnificent object delineation - you can literally count Cohen’s facial hairs. Blacks are deep and inky, while colours are always bold and vibrant. Some of the CGI does look slightly soft, but that’s inherent to the source.

    There is light noise in a few scenes, but it’s refined rather than blocky, so it’s not distracting in the slightest. I never detected anything in the way of banding, aliasing or black crush - this Blu-ray is smooth sailing across the board, making for a reference-quality disc. An Ultra HD Blu-ray release might offer some degree of improvement, but in the meantime, I’m more than happy with this exceptional 1080p presentation.

    Only English subtitles are available.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

As with the video, Grimsby’s audio belies its status as a comedy. There are a number of action scenes throughout, in which this lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track roars to life, with loud gunshots, explosions and punches, taking full advantage of the format. Channels are put to good use, especially with music coming through to underscore the mayhem. It’s all very precise and well-mixed, as to be expected from a 2016 release. Equally impressive are scenes set in a football stadium, with crowd ambience filling the rear channels.

Fortunately, dialogue is always clear and easy to understand, and though the more lower-key scenes aren’t as surround-heavy, the track is consistently crisp and free of issues. Some viewers may bemoan the lack of a 7.1 or an Atmos track, but it’s hard to be dissatisfied with this terrific 5.1 mix.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

A small collection of special features. Unfortunately, there's no audio commentary, and one gets the sense that there's probably a whole lot of extra material which isn't included here.

Line O Rama (HD; 2:21)

A small collection of alternate jokes. Funny.

Gag Reel (HD; 2:34)

A bit on the short side, but this is still an amusing assortment of outtakes.

Deleted Scenes (HD; 8:54)

Three deleted scenes, which can be watched individually or via a “Play All” function. There are a few laughs to be had, but it’s easy to see why these were cut. The third scene is particularly erroneous and painfully unfunny.

Extended Scenes (HD; 9:02)

Three extended scenes, which again can either be viewed individually or altogether. Included here is an extended edition of the elephant orgy sequence, which the world could probably have gone without quite happily, but it still made me laugh.

The Making of Grimsby (HD; 11:50)

This is very much an EPK piece, with an array of cast and crew discussing the project’s origins, script, casting and filming, with the production involving many stunts and locations. Plenty of on-set footage is included which shows amusing behind-the-scenes monkey business. Even though this is short and fluffy, it does have some merit.

The Elephant in the Room (HD; 4:21)

Even though the previous featurette delved into a certain scene set inside an elephant’s v*****, this particular behind-the-scenes piece is solely concerned with how the scene was executed.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

All editions worldwide seem to be identical in terms of extras, only differing for subtitle and audio options. Buy local.

Summary

Some people are going to hate Grimsby, and that's a perfectly reasonable reaction. But perhaps owing to low expectations, I seriously enjoyed it, and look forward to watching it again for years to come. It made me laugh, and that's a big deal.

Roadshow's Blu-ray is very good on the whole, with above-average video and audio, while the extras are entertaining despite being so scarce. This disc comes recommended, though it's probably best if you give the movie a spin before buying.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	PlayStation 4, using HDMI output
Display	LG 42LW6500. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	LG BH7520TW
Speakers	LG Tall Boy speakers, 5.1 set-up, 180W

Other Reviews NONE