Brothers Jake (Matt Damon) and Will Grimm (Heath Ledger), renowned collectors of folklore, have made a career out of traveling from village to village pretending to rid them of "enchanted" creatures. Their bluff is called, however, when they are forced by Napoleon's French government to investigate a haunted forest where girls have been disappearing mysteriously. What they discover leads to a series of adventures involving an actual evil (and immortal) sorceress that mirrors that of mythology and the fables that the Brothers Grimm would eventually become famous for.

This is the kind of movie that you will either really like or just hate completely. The movie really doesn’t leave a lot of middle ground for those who see it as it is so far in leftfield as far as fantasy and story telling goes that you either accept the movie or you don’t. You have to be able to submerge yourself completely in the movie or you won’t be able to enjoy it. The movie is a fanciful take at some of the famous fairy tales told by the Grimm Brothers set in a real world take as the Grimm Brothers live some of the fairy tales themselves. Personally I enjoyed the movie, it was a little over the top at times but for the most part the movie was a fun fanciful look at a lot of the fairy tales we grew up with. From the ginger bread man to little red riding hood each of the characters is a real the stories themselves. I was able to emerge myself in the story and turn my disbelief off which made me enjoy the movie even at times the movie does go overboard to much and should have stuck closer to the source material itself.

Matt Damon and Heath Ledger were an interesting choice of actors for the Will and Jake Grimm and for the most part they pull the roles off. I for one am very familiar with the Grimm stories but not the storytellers themselves which actually works to the advantage of the movie. I doubt anyone really knows that much about the Grimm Brothers which allows them a lot of creative licensing when recreating them for the movie. They do fall into the clichés at times with the one worldly brother and the other more of a science geek but in the end it works out. I liked Damon in the movie a little bit more than Ledger as he is the far better actor and the more believable in the movie but they both do a fair job at the very least. But the tales themselves are the main stars of the movie and whether it be jack and the beast stock or sleeping beauty the movie was a fun look at the stories we grew up with in a dark and twisted manner. The movie is no oscar winner by any means but it is good for an afternoon matinee.
3.5 stars out of 5