Rating (3 out of 5)

Smatterings of interesting scenes, but as a whole just a ramble of different scenes.

Two hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to Bruges, Belgium to hide out until their boss (Ralph Fiennes) give them new orders.  The story revolves around them in Bruges and the people they meet.

What I Liked:  There were a number of scenes that I enjoyed.  The scene where they recommend to the fat family that they not climb to the the top of the historic building.  You think making the suggestion when you see those old cathedral and the really narrow stairwells, but never say it.  So it was a little humorous when they said it out loud.

Ray meets a young woman, Chloe (Clémence Poésy) at a movie being filmed in Bruges.  She sells drugs to crew and actors of the movie.  The relationship between them was fun, and wish they had evolved it even more.  You learned a little about her when they were in her flat, and Ray gets into an altercation with a male friend of hers.  Turns out she runs this scam on tourists. Missed opportunity.

Ray and Ken also develop a relationship with the hotel owner Marie (Thekla Reuten).  This relationship was’t as strong as Ray and Chloe, but still it was interesting to see things develop between them, and I wanted to see that more.

The reveal on why they had to hide out in Bruges was well done.  This revelation then led to a couple of good scenes where Ray struggles with his mistake.

What I Didn’t Like:  The scenes were there but there wasn’t enough into each of them.  I really don’t understand the need for the dwarf.  The dwarf I think was intended to be the humorous part of the movie, but it missed for me.  The conversation about the black versus white battle to come was just strange and to me didn’t fit with the pieces I had before that time.

I thought Harry was a bit over the top for me.  To shot people in the middle of Bruges was too much for me.  If he had risen to that level, then he would have done so through intelligent maneuvers, like shooting people in their sleep.

SPOILER:  Some of the characters die, which was good.  However, the end felt a little manufactured, but to me it felt forced.  Trying to have the Snatch type ending in the street.

Conclusion: In Bruges has some good scenes, but as a whole struggles to tie everything together.