Almost a month ago, Louis Letterier’s (Now You See Me, The Incredible Hulk) spy actioner The Brothers Grimsby debuted its first teaser trailer, and it was one starved of any form of memorable or original comedy.
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong as two wildly different siblings, Letterier’s feature failed to win over many fans based on its first impression, with Cohen playing a dimwitted character that will be overly familiar to supporters of the actor’s previous work – specifically Bruno, Borat, and The Dictator. But even at that, Cohen’s unofficial trilogy of lunacy contained redeeming features such as the mockumentary style of filmmaking. Going off two very similar teaser trailers, the same can’t be said for The Brothers Grimsby at this stage.
Opening with a fast-paced sizzle reel of Strong’s gruff British secret agent in action, here, we’re given a peak into the dynamic between the titular pair of mismatched siblings. After kicking ass and taking names, Strong’s super-agent is confronted with his greasy and long-lost hooligan brother, and what follows is a sketch that overstays its welcome.
Then again, marketing comedies becomes a difficult balancing act of choosing between which jokes to include in the trailers and which to reserve for the final feature. Fans of Sacha Baron Cohen’s gleeful comedy style will certainly take to his character here, though I’m hoping that the full-length trailer does enough to win over any doubters – myself included.
Rebel Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Isla Fisher, Gabourey Sidibe, Annabelle Wallis, and Ian McShane complete the cast, and The Brothers Grimsby opens in theaters on March 4, 2016 – hopefully the final feature contains better jokes than the first two clips.