Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes

Bruges (pronounced "broozh"), the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and K...( read more  read more... )en (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But, the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë, who may have some dark secrets of her own. And, when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences.

Flixster Users

84% liked it

75,598 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

151 critics

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Martin McDonagh

Release Date: January 17, 2008

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: June 24, 2008

Get It:

Stats: 15,050 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (15,050)


  • October 30, 2009
    Mad-Eye Moody, Fleur Delacour, and Lord Voldemort -- all assembled again for a magical movie. Excellent. I kept thinking that Gleeson would fly at the end. Sadly, both he and my hopes for his miraculous salvation sunk equally as fast as the pull of gravity.

    Can there ever b

    ...( read more)e a happy -- a fairy tale -- ending for someone who kills an innocent person? I don't think so. At least not in the literature with which I'm familiar.

    Some very powerful performances in this hitman-buddy-road movie -- maybe the best thing Colin Farrell has ever done. Lots of funny scenes and lines in this one, and that helps a lot to offset the rather grim reality of the lives lived in this story.

    If I were directing this one, I'd lose the flashback to the killings in the church. It would be more interesting, for me, to have the details of that blundered hit be revealed bit by bit through snatches of dialog at key moments.

  • October 8, 2009
    Over rated and with the cast at hand expected more. But from reading interviews neither Farrell or Gleeson where allowed any flexibility in what they where doing. A pity as it could have been a good movie.
  • October 1, 2009
    What a refreshing surprise! This is one of the only films I've seen where the label 'Dark Comedy' is actually really fitting. I really liked it, in fact, it?s now got to be one of my favourite films! The only thing preventing this from being a 5 star film is that Ralph Fiennes is...( read more) too much like Ben Kingsley's character in Sexy Beast.
  • August 26, 2009
    A refreshingly unpredictable, darkly comic and curiously haunting odyssey of two hit men, the film is a mercurial amalgam of genres and emotions set in an appropriately strange, archaic fairy-tale city. It enjoys observing their rapport and unfolds from the conflicting attitudes ...( read more)of their respective characters. The cinematography is beautiful, painting a gothic picture of a city full of history and swathed in shadows, the performances are all sharp, and film itself is a memorable, original fable.
  • July 1, 2009
    Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell compose the axis of this black comedy, unfolding in the "fairy tale"-like Bruges. Probably one of the most amusing films I've seen lately, In Bruges is equal parts cruel and flat out funny, all while being based (oddly enough) on a...( read more) dead serious moral dilemma. I think it's admirable that a writer may have reached that balance in a way that feels fresh, and also that the actors may have adjusted so perfectly with the tone of the film. Speaking of tone, it's one of the most remarkable things about In Bruges: the cool palette ranges from blues to muted golds, music is used with measure, the pace is either draggy or frenetic for comedic purposes... It's a very entertaining film to go along with; above all, it's brilliant at being unpredictable.

    To me, the highlight is definitely the screenplay. Every scene is quite meticulous and there aren't many that could be discharged or replaced. In Bruges goes back to the old practice of having a shot actually last longer than the speed of light, and give space for body language and intelligent dialog (also testament to how long the actors can maintain the comedy without it falling sloppy). I could have listened to these foul mouthed, prejudiced characters for hours. However, they were far from typecast as typical "hitmen" or "gangsters", and were drawn as people, who may or may not appreciate Flemish art and beer, who also happened to kill people for a living. How it was laid-out, so matter-of-factly, and the context of Medieval tourism it was put into, had me smiling like a fool for the entire duration of the film.

    The humor is violent, loud, and very very dark. The more ignorant and irreverent the better.

    Much to my, and most people's, dismay, I didn't really think Colin Farrell was very superior to the other two actors. That isn't saying anything bad about his performance, since I consider them all to be great. Although Ralph Fiennes did steal some of the scenes.

    There's also a message about redemption, or the impossibility of achieving it... your call. Make sure not to miss it though, there are quite a few distractions :P
  • November 18, 2009
    This film so near rises above the level of just an intelligent rollercoaster ride, so damn near. A real shame. Only a few strokes could have sealed the deal. But even in falling short, it does so in a genuinely spectacular fashion with quite a lot going for it.
  • November 18, 2009
    Loved this from start to finish. Superb acting, great plot, and some great dark humour. Recommend this to anyone.
  • November 17, 2009
    One of the best this year. It's absurdly funny, but also knows when to be serious. Colin Farrell gave a really good performance, hopefully he'll stop doing shitty blockbuster types and stick to good acting jobs. I loved how much he hated Bruges and never missed a chance to call i...( read more)t a horrible place. It was just a really good and also enjoyable movie.
  • November 15, 2009
    This film is amazing. I can't tell you how many times i've watched it and can still crack up at its many dark, dark humor moments.
  • November 15, 2009
    15/11/09
    (mi manca Bruges e vederla in un film mi ha fatto uno strano effetto. non mi aspettavo un film del genere, sono rimasta piacevolmente colpita. ma la musica trash durante l'inseguimento potevano evitarla ç_ç)

Critic Reviews


February 22, 2008
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

Doesn't need to be too hip or too cool to be damn good. full review

February 15, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

'After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames' -- so begins In Bruges, an insanely clever thug's tale so rife with obscenity that those 11 words form one of the longest complete sentences that ... full review

February 8, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

It is easily one of the best debut feature films in recent memory. The notion of a pair of hit men cooling their heels as they're forced to play tourist in a picture-postcard town is clever enough. Bu... full review

February 8, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

In Bruges is not a great movie, but there's no mistaking that it's the product of a great talent. full review

February 8, 2008
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

If you could hoist a film on your shoulders and parade it through the theater for adulation and hoorays, the new British crime comedy In Bruges would be the one. full review

February 8, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This film debut by the theater writer and director Martin McDonagh is an endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished. full review

February 7, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

In Bruges is a haunting and hypnotic movie, just the thing to get lost in. full review

February 6, 2008
Armond White, The New York Press

It's deeply insulting to movie audiences when an award-winning playwright thinks that this sub-Tarantino nonsense carries the essence of cinema in some way. full review

February 4, 2008
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

No one wants a movie that tiptoes in step with political correctness, yet the willful opposite can be equally noxious. full review

February 4, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It's obvious why [director] McDonagh wanted to launch his film career with bang-bang instead of talk-talk. But his timing seems off. full review

View more In Bruges reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • xXxHarleyxQuinnxXx
    July 21, 2009
    Love Ralph Fiennes soo much...sigh...
  • neogirl3
    January 26, 2009
    what an awesomse film, it rocks
  • pixiepwr72
    November 29, 2008
    Great Film.....all around
  • MaydayKoigo
    June 14, 2008
    I want to warn everybody about the trailor for this film, It makes the film out to look crap I think, but I have the feeling that it will be a brilliant movie which could be more original than most, so be carefull not to judge a book by it's cover! :)
  • flditems1
    February 18, 2008
    A friendof mine & myself last night decided to go see a film, with no plans in mind of what to see.
    After both quashing each others first couple choices, we agreed on this, since neither of us had any idea what it was about, but both said "Colin Farrell, cant be that bad".

    What it was, was the BEST movie I have seen in a longtime that I had no expectations about. Funny as hell. Serious at the same time. It had midgets (uhh, dwarves), hookers, conmen/conwomen, hitmen, and so much more. It was random froms tart to end, but tied the whole package together well at the end. Comedic genius.
    I cant figure out who the people are that have this down to only 3.5 stars, but they clearly are too politically correct to find ANYTHING funny, and thus hated this, because it does manage to poke fun at probably every race imaginable. But you still laugh when you heaqr it, because the delivery was great.

    AA+++
  • sexylove390
    February 9, 2008
    I SAW THE TRAILER AND IT LOOKED SOO FUNNY. I WANNA SEE IT. COLIN FARRELL HOTTTT.
  • nelltoo
    January 19, 2008
    I was on the set. This film is frickin' awesome. Everybody better go see it.
  • mariannetje
    January 12, 2008
    i lived in bruges for 2 years and its not a stupid city !
    but good movie i think .. but its not a stupid city !!!!!! :p

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Pulp Fiction
    Pulp Fiction (63%)
  • The Odd Couple
    The Odd Couple (22%)
  • RocknRolla
    RocknRolla (50%)
  • Snatch
    Snatch (58%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

In Bruges : Watch Free on TV


In Bruges Trivia


  • I was Ken in "In Bruges", Mad-Eye Moody in "Harry Potter" and King Menelaus in "Troy". Who am I?  Answer »
  • Ray fancied a girl in "In Bruges". What was her name?  Answer »
  • which of these movies is NOT a remake of a foreign film?  Answer »
  • In the film In Bruges (2008), how much change Ken has left when he is at the Bell Tower?  Answer »

Most Popular Skin