"The Brothers Bloom" - REVIEW

You know how you have those unfortunate experiences where you watch a film, enjoy it, feel that it's coming to a close, and start getting ready to leave...before it continues on for another 35 minutes? That's exactly the big problem with Rian Johnson's "The Brothers Bloom", a fun ride that seems to become a totally different movie (for the worse) in its last third.

Bloom and Stephen (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) are the titular brothers who have spent almost their entire lives working as expert conmen. Bloom is always the more reserved, cautious one, and Stephen is wildly ambitious, weaving cons so elaborate that they start to become adventure stories. Eventually, Bloom gets sick of it and goes off to Montenegro, but of course Stephen finds him, and ropes Bloom in for one last epic con, along with their explosives expert Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi). The plan involves roping in a shy, goofy heiress who "collects hobbies" (Rachel Weisz), and using her expertise in...everything in order to help the trio obtain an ancient prayer book hidden in the catacombs of Prague, before selling it to a man from Argentina for a cool $2.5 million.

The opening is pleasant, but weighed down by the necessary exposition and "this is the last one...no I mean it this time" conversations, but then the heiress comes into play. Initially a socially awkward hobbyist (who can do everything from breakdancing to play a dozen intruments and speak as many languages), as she comes out of her shell she becomes increasingly delightful. Weisz, who I'm not a huge fan of (never in a million years will I agree with that Oscar win of hers) is totally winning here, easily stealing the show. She's bubbly, funny, and a joy to watch amidst sour Brody, scheming Ruffalo, and near-mute Kikuchi (who, ironically, has the second best character). So, things get underway, including the involvement of a Belgian (Robbie Coltrane) who may or may not be double-crossing the group, and a man simply called Diamond Dog who taught the brothers what they know, but seems to have a bad relatioship with them (for a reason never made clear). A couple of explosions and some good laughs later, everything seems set to wrap up. 'Maybe there will only be about 10 or 15 minutes left, to squeeze in a little more plot and a nice tidy resolution,' I thought, 'what a great time at the movies this has been. It's not amazing, but I'd certainly recommend this to people with a smile!' And then the second movie started. When a pivotal scene in Mexico occurs, things start to slide downhill. The story gets darker and stranger, involving getting mixed up with some Russians who may or may not be working with Stephen to work out a con against Bloom and the heiress (why??). With its travels abroad, sly humor, and increasingly dark story, "The Brothers Bloom" feels like the globetrotting sequel to last year's terrific "In Bruges". But where that film felt seamless in its blend of humor and grim subject matter, "Bloom"'s shift feels bipolar. The darker third sucks the fun out of the fun ride that had been playing out on the screen, and to no purpose. Why writer/director Rian Johnson decided to take this route is puzzling. He had such a fun movie, so why on earth did he feel the need to go and add so much more than was necessary? Many movies are accused of not having enough plot to justify their run-times, but "The Brothers Bloom" has the opposite problem. In fact, one you hit the Mexico segment, you might as well walk out of the theater; you'll feel much more satisfied, instead of left wondering how the last act could have been reworked.

Grade: B-