Executive Protection (2001) Poster

(2001)

User Reviews

Review this title
18 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
Swedish action that works
jonasgr25 August 2002
Usually Swedish action movies are worse than an American C-class action. In movies like the two latest Hamilton movies (Vendetta and Hamilton) the action mainly consists of car explosions and gunfights that even the worst of American action would match.

Livvakterna does not fall into this trap, to my delight there isn't one single car explosion. Sure, there are some gunfight but to me they feel real, the characters feels real, the script feels real... basically, it's a very good movie.
12 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Good... and Swedish!
Rammstein-214 August 2001
Warning: Spoilers
The world is awash with awful police movies, and Sweden has contributed some to this fact. "Livvakterna" (The Bodyguards) is a fresh new attempt at the Swedish police thriller, and actually succeeds. The victim of a Russian mafia scam, Sven Persson (Fröler) is blackmailed by some mercenary ex-Stasi super-criminal and his gang. When Persson refuses to pay up, well... you know the drill. Nothing really revolutionary. Meanwhile, former police investigator Johan Falk quits the force because he is ostracized by his superiors (again, nothing new) and joins a team of bodyguards to back his old pal Sven Persson up against the mafia gang.

No new twists and turns, the same old story. Then why is it good? Well, the characters are believable, the performances are good, and there is something different about Swedish action-thriller flicks. This one is far more violent than most, but is still kept at a fairly decent level, no tremendous explosions and stuff, just plain shooting, car chasing through the Swedish forest (very nice) and then shooting some more before the quite exciting finale. Of course, in line with tradition, there's a lot of looking confused, grim, confused again and then very, very dedicated before the good guys win (oh, gimme a break, that's not a spoiler).

Performances are fine, except for maybe Alexandra Rapaport who should just stay away from this kind of film for she is clearly not cut out for it. The action itself is believable and even cool at some points. So, all in all, a good action movie. And Swedish at that.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Okay Swedish action flick
AKS-61 September 2001
A Swedish action flick that actually works? Is that possible? Well, this movie _almost_ works. While the last twenty minutes or so of Livvakterna are very suspenseful and full of action, the 1.5 hours leading up to those minutes are merely okay. The scene where Krister Henriksson's character explains the first, second, and third crime waves is actually incredibly bad, almost embarrassing to have to watch. The acting? For the most part the acting is better than one might expect from an ordinary action movie, but some performances are not very good at all. However, Livvakterna is rather entertaining, and the last twenty minutes are quite good so I'll give this film a 5 out of 10. If you ask me, I'd say that the director's first movie -- Noll tolerans -- was better than this one.
4 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Oh, boy! They actually made a good swedish action movie!
Gabri L6 September 2001
After having been almost physically persuaded to see this movie (I don´t see Swedish movies anymore, they usually put my teeth on edge), I was extremely surprised by "Livvakterna". This and it´s predecessor "Noll Tolerans"(made by the same people, has the same main character) are most probably the only Swedish action thrillers to actually deserve that denomination.

An introvert, hard boiled, cop goes to the funeral of his friend´s father, and gets involved in a yarn of extortion, blackmail and murder. The action scenes are realistic, nothing fancy, the characters believable, and most of all, the cinematography is excellent. A car chase through a Swedish forest will go down in history as a modern classic, and the director made good use of cut and sound to highten the suspence. And believe me, towards the end I found myself biting my fingernails to the quick!

All in all, the best in its genre to come out of Sweden in a long time, and I hope that this movie sets a standard!
19 out of 21 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
You can't be a businessman and that stupid!
Bimpen11 March 2002
This is a standard action movie, fairly well kept together, and probably good fun for most people. However, the plot has a fundamental flaw. If you are a nice swedish capitalist (Fröler), family and all, trying to establish your business in Latvia(?), what do you do if you get blackmailed? You might try to get help from a silver-haired, ex-STASI agent (Ohrt) carrying a laptop. You might also think it is worth to give up 20% of your profit in Latvia to this former STASI officer in order to get peace and quiet. The STASI-professional then kills all of the blackmailers in 30 seconds! How do you reason then? "Oh, how horrible, I must immediately leave Latvia and try to get away from my agreement with this dangerous STASI-man"? Not very likely, you can't be that stupid and at the same time a businessman. It's simply impossible.

4/10 but could be a 6/10 with a slightly smarter businessman.
3 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
A bodyguard firm helps a victim...
gustav_c_j16 February 2004
This movie is the second of a trilogy. It's about Johan Falk a Swedish police officer. His friend gets caught in a situation with organized crime takin' over companies. And Johan comes to the rescue. This is a high speed action movie from beginning to end. And you won't be disappointed by it. The other movies are "Noll Tollerans"(Zero tolerance) and "Tredje vågen" (the Third wave).
7 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
One of the worst Swedish movies ever
alternativet9019 August 2006
I could go on for hours about all the things that stink about this movie, but just to be brief: - countless plot holes and illogical actions (e.g. the "professional bodyguards" leaves the country home of their client virtually unattended with THE GATES OPEN for the bad guys to simply drive through...) - The acting. Oh My God. Over-acting on some parts, while Eklund (as usual) looks like a tired Labrador and switches back and forth between his two only expressions: confused and confusedly smiling. - The dialogue. Jeez. How many clichés can you stuff into one script?

I don't know why, but for some reason mediocre or downright awful action movies receive high grades if they're in Swedish, while no one would bother if they had been made in the USA. The Swedish film industry seems obsessed with making bad versions of American B-films.

The horror. The horror.
2 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
a great thriller I chanced upon, called "Executive Protection" in Australia
spj-416 October 2008
Well! What a pleasant surprise I chanced on when I crossed the dial to find this Swedish movie on channel SBS! A quality production for a QUALITY channel!!

This is a GREAT thriller! It has much drama but with solid plot underlying it! Several scenes in this are riveting & thoughtfully provoking! The background setting & human foibles & flawed decisions make for a gripping finale!

There is violence & bloodshed, but it is not lacking in reality in such depictions or desperate situations! ... Well portraying the confused emotions of those who are victims! ... As well as those who ruthlessly attack without fairness or compassion or intent other than self-advantage!!!

This is compelling viewing! I had intended to split my viewing between 2 other programs FAR less enthralling!! ... I found this instead!
4 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Horrible!
opzfan28 February 2005
The film Livvakterna is probably the worst film i have ever seen. The reasons for this are as follows... When the film was released in Sweden, it was accompanied by a large-scale marketing campaign, suggesting that it was a must see. Sadly a lot of swedes went and saw it and actually liked it! The film itself had a big budget in Swedish standards, however it does not help the film at all! First of all, the plot is very lame and unrealistic and so is the acting. Especially from the actors portraying the so called "livvakterna". The scene when we are told the motivation for alexandra rappaports character, is one of the worst of its kind and feels totally uncalled for. Obviously something went wrong with the cinematography in this film, colors are to bright and looks like a commercial for cleaning products made in Germany. Never say you haven't been warned, this movie makes me nauseous!
2 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Very cool film about personal protection
fgh-enterprises1 February 2004
This is the first Swedish film I have seen, having watch it on the SBS TV channel in Australia the reason I watched it was the title got my attention due working in the private security industry. It is very sparse with none of the usual Hollywood Bulls**t that is usually attached with these type of films. A realistic and compentent look at the intricate world of personal protection, especially during the scene's where the bad guys take the house and Pernilla throws herself in front of the principal and keep's him down until the all clear is given.The ending is edge of seat stuff. All up a extremely good film. Highly recommended veiwing
10 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
It's so bad!
fran-717-22814210 March 2024
Everything about this movie is so bad. All actors act like teenagers who make their first movie. Jesus christ, do not waste time watching this. And the music? It's like they put dramatic bad music in every scene just to justify the bad screenplay. I have never seen a swedish policefilm worse than this. I didn't bother to see the whole movie. I stopped when there was 20 minutes left because I just couldn't see more. Instead, see Bo Widerbergs The man on the roof or The man from Mallorca. Two well made movies from the 70's and the 80's. I wonder how they could milk so much with movies of the carachter Johan Falk? How can anyone watt to see bad policemovies like this?
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Psycho cop lost in the woods
tendell19 August 2001
Part of writing a manuscript is about creating realistic dialogue. In Livvakterna this is handled with a new, daring exercise: Let the star meet all questions with silence. Somehow though, you could consider it realistic. I mean, after all the star is a psycho cop who don't attend former girlfriends funerals, who loves police work more than family life, who quits police work by just sending a mail and have more guts fighting lawyers than criminals. He loses himself in a bodyguards vs bodyguards drama and move into the woods. There will not be another sequel to Noll Tolerans-Livvakterna. Therefore I'm thankful and gave it an 8.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The best Swedish movie ever!
tomaslidberg30 August 2001
This film is the best Swedish movie that I have seen, its different than other films. The movie is "seen" from another point of view, its not the harassed family´s view but an old friend´s that is a tuff cop that is trying to help the family.

"Livvakterna" is a film that is thrilling from the beginning to the end, its also cool sometimes and it has the best car chase that I have seen in a film - in a Swedish forest road. It has also (as do many successful films) some humor.The film is not that violent ither except for the opening scene. This is a quality film that I just have to recommend.
8 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Realistic action!!!
KFORII14 May 2002
This film is a "must" for those who are into realistic action. It has good story, good actors and it`s not typical American. I can only speak for myself when I say that I appreciate that guns are being properly handled, that magazines are being changed and that a simple car-crash does not make an explosion. "Livvakterna"/"Executive Protection" are an example to follow for all Nordic film makers. Dice throw 5!!!
5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Enjoyable Svensk thriller!!!
hamlet-1629 March 2003
An enjoyable Swedish crime thriller that follows on from the very good "Noll Tolerans".

Organised crime is attempting to take over Swedish businesses and our hero, Jacob Eklund must defend the good people of Sweden from the very nasty Christoph M. Ohrt.

What occurs is a lot of shooting, car chases and mayhem and blood ...lots and lots of blood with a very high body count!

The film develops a good deal of tension as it moves to the inevitable final shootout with a nice twist at the end.

Well worth a night in to watch on video!
8 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Superb Swedish Thriller
GambitSWE8 March 2002
Excellent thriller with great acting. As somebody already pointed out, there isn't very much of the Hollywood stereotype about the movie. With this I mean explosion, after explosions which are so big that they can't possible be. Sweden aren't exactly known for their big action/thriller movies, but this one will maybe open some eyes for those who don't know that Sweden are a bit more than Strindberg, Nobel and polar bears. Do they have polar bears in Sweden,? No. But according to a essay done in the US, more than 50% of the students thought so.

The movie has beautiful scenery, and the tension keeps you at your toes, though it hasn't anything really new about it. Does show though that Sweden can produce thrillers, and not only dramas, which may be nominated for an Oscar...
5 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Great action-thriller from the same man that did "Noll Tolerans"
norsted4 September 2001
As the former writer said, it´s a rather good action-thriller. The best one I have seen on Swedish cinemas anyway. Go see it!
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Not what I waited for
searchanddestroy-129 January 2017
I don't expect my comment to be useful to anyone. I only say that this thriller from Sweden is of course effective, sharp, very well made, but not a real film noir for me. It is too much in the American way, with the good guys and the bad guys scheme, which I hate, unless the face to face between the evil and the lead is interesting. Here, the bad guy, the heavy, is pretty interesting and the very end exciting too. But that doesn't "save" the film for me. I repeat, too "American", to be a crime flick as I love. Too much predictable. But, I repeat, the directing is perfect, as was the director's previous film, NOOS TOLERANS, and probably is his next and other movies. No doubt. The Scandinavian film industry should have its trade mark, although this one is very professional, and not copy Hollywood. And I speak about the stories put on screen, not about the acting or directing. Only stories, screenplays.
0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Clear your history

Recently Viewed