Brothers Reviews Show Limited Brotherly Love from Critics

Brothers reviews are basically going over a movie that the trailer gave away. The Brothers reviews only confirm that the vast majority of the plot, and even the plot twists, were given away in the previews. Those that saw the trailer know that Tobey Maguire is supposedly killed in Afghanistan, leaving widow Natalie Portman and drifter brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal to get closer - until a traumatized and dangerous Maguire returns. Brothers reviews have to make out if the rest of the movie is better than the trailer, and they are split as to whether it is.

The ads try to frame the movie as a war drama and epic family struggle, but make it more like a horror thriller when the unhinged Maguire comes back. According to many Brothers reviews, there aren't any real surprises that the trailer didn't give away, though some don't mind it that much.

Though Maguire looked excessively over-the-top in the context of the trailer, many critics give him the best reviews of his career. Roger Ebert says that Maguire finds new "dark depths" in the movie, and most critics agree with him. Gyllenhaal and Portman have their share of raves as well, but Maguire garners the lions share of praise - among those who don't think he's wildly miscast.

The timing of Brothers is ironic, as it deals with a broken soldier from Afghanistan - just days after President Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to go there. But the movies have a checkered history of dealing with post-traumatic soldiers, as it often borders on hysterical cliché. The most negative Brothers reviews regard it the same way, with the Village Voice calling it "PTSD melodrama."

But just as many reviews say that the film transcends the clichés, much like the original 2004 version from Denmark. The lead trio of actors get a bit more credit for this than director Jim Sheridan and writer David Benioff, however.

Rotten Tomatoes reflects the split in Brothers reviews, as it rules on the side of "fresh" with a 63% positive score. The consensus admits that "It plays more like a traditional melodrama than the Susanne Bier film that inspired it, but Jim Sheridan's Brothers benefits from rock-solid performances by its three leads." Meta Critic is similarly split, with a 60% average score from 23 major critics.

The positive responses for the movie likely won't be enough for Oscar attention, even though Maguire might get an extra look. The Hurt Locker was the major war movie beloved by critics this year, and Brothers might be too divisive to challenge that.

Sources

Rotten Tomatoes- "Brothers"

Meta Critic- "Brothers reviews"