"Riders of Justice" is just good enough to make you wish it was better.
I'm not sure the Danes are the go-to people for comedy. Which is strange, because I know Danish people and they have great senses of humor. But it somehow doesn't translate all that well to Danish films. This one is an uneasy mix between psychological thriller, crime drama, and slapstick comedy that provides some decent entertainment but doesn't do any of what it's trying to do particularly well. The humor is strained, though there are moments that are pretty funny. It's a film about the trauma induced by letting rage and violence be a person's dominant way of dealing with the world, as embodied by the character played by Mads Mikkelsen, great as always, a man who seeks revenge on the people who are responsible for the death of his wife, yet is surrounded by people who try to convince him that there are better ways to find healing. It's a good premise, and it offers a nice divergence from the usual revenge movie tropes. How disappointing then that the finale finds this ragtag and lovable bunch of characters gun down an entire gang of criminal thugs with no compunction and worse, no apparent consequences. A movie that spends an hour and a half convincing us that killing others leaves humans permanently scarred ends with a scene of casual violence that makes guns look cool. Boo. Please Danes, don't become just like Americans.
Speaking of Americans, they are bound to remake this movie someday, with someone like Hugh Jackman in the main role.
Grade: B+
I'm not sure the Danes are the go-to people for comedy. Which is strange, because I know Danish people and they have great senses of humor. But it somehow doesn't translate all that well to Danish films. This one is an uneasy mix between psychological thriller, crime drama, and slapstick comedy that provides some decent entertainment but doesn't do any of what it's trying to do particularly well. The humor is strained, though there are moments that are pretty funny. It's a film about the trauma induced by letting rage and violence be a person's dominant way of dealing with the world, as embodied by the character played by Mads Mikkelsen, great as always, a man who seeks revenge on the people who are responsible for the death of his wife, yet is surrounded by people who try to convince him that there are better ways to find healing. It's a good premise, and it offers a nice divergence from the usual revenge movie tropes. How disappointing then that the finale finds this ragtag and lovable bunch of characters gun down an entire gang of criminal thugs with no compunction and worse, no apparent consequences. A movie that spends an hour and a half convincing us that killing others leaves humans permanently scarred ends with a scene of casual violence that makes guns look cool. Boo. Please Danes, don't become just like Americans.
Speaking of Americans, they are bound to remake this movie someday, with someone like Hugh Jackman in the main role.
Grade: B+