Grimsby (2016)

Grimsby is what happens when a slick, globe-trotting spy thriller gets joyfully hijacked by pure, shameless chaos—and somehow the collision works. Sacha Baron Cohen plays the lovable human wrecking ball with fearless commitment, while Mark Strong’s dead-serious professionalism becomes the perfect punchline; their odd-couple chemistry keeps the movie moving even when it’s gleefully pushing the boundaries of taste. Director Louis Leterrier stages the action with real momentum, so the jokes don’t just sit there—they detonate amid chases, shootouts, and escalating absurdity, giving the whole thing a rude, high-octane vibe. Fair warning: this is aggressively R-rated gross-out comedy, so if explicit sexual humor and “did they really go there?” set pieces aren’t your thing, steer clear—but if they are, it’s a brash, energetic blast that earns its biggest laughs by refusing to play nice.

Grimsby is trying to mash up a Bond-style chase movie with a heartfelt brothers-reunited story, then drown the whole thing in Sacha Baron Cohen’s most aggressively crude shock humor. If you’re not fully on board with nonstop vulgarity, graphic nudity, and gags that go on way past the point of being funny, this will feel less “edgy” and more like it’s begging for a reaction. The action is competently staged and Mark Strong plays the straight man well, but the pacing and writing lurch between spy spoof, sentiment, and gross-out set pieces in a way that can be exhausting. Watch it only if you genuinely enjoy maximal, no-filter bad-taste comedy and don’t mind the plot being mostly an excuse to escalate the next outrageous moment.