User Reviews

Danish mix between crime, drama and comedy from 2020 and this was released not too long ago here, which means it took quite some time to make it to movie theaters, even if my country Germany is really not too far away from Denmark. This was written and dire.

Greetings again from the darkness. Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity to describe occurrences that appear related, yet lack a clear connection. Writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen (Nicolaj Arcel is credited with the idea) starts us off with a slew of coincidences: Mathilde's bike is stolen, her dad calls to say his military assignment has been extended, her mom decides they should take the train to town, a man surrenders his seat to Mathilde's mom, a passenger throws away his sandwich while getting off the train, a bomb derails the train after that stop, a key witness in a criminal trial is killed, and the man who gave up his seat is a probability expert who begins assembling the pieces before going to Mathilde's dad to present his case. Were these coincidences related or is it possible meaning is being found where none exists?

Mads Mikkelsen stars as Markus, who returns home from military service to care for his teenage daughter Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) after the train wreck killed his wife/her mother (Anna Birgitte Lind). The problem is that Markus is a no-nonsense man who deals with his grief by not dealing at all ... except for guzzling beer and slapping Mathilde's boyfriend. Markus is a different look than what we usually get with Mads. His tussled hair has been sheared and he sports a full beard. He's a combustible man about to burst with pent-up aggression, which makes him especially accepting to the theory he's about to hear.

Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kass) is the statistical analyst who gave up his seat on the train. His partner Lennart (Lars Brygmann) is a brilliant man, likely on the spectrum, while Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro) is an obese loner and computer whiz. This trio reminds of The Lone Gunman from "The X-Files", and add a dash of dark comedic flair to an otherwise weighty and somber affair. Soon joined by Bodashka (Gustav Lind), a victim a human trafficking, this is a team of flawed and damaged individuals, each dealing with their own personal baggage - while focused on Markus' obsession with vengeance.

The titular Riders of Justice are a criminal gang whose leader was set to go on trial. The key witness died in the train wreck, kicking off the domino effect for Otto's theory and Markus' path of wrath. Can the series of coincidences be mathematically explained, and if so, can this group of overly intelligent, geeky misfits lead the vengeance-seeking husband down the path of vigilante justice?

Filmmaker Jensen nicely balances the moments of extreme violence with the Brainiac segments so that we can easily follow what Markus is doing, and why. The group therapy has us questioning if life can be mathematically predicted, or if coincidences are simply that. Other supporting work comes from Roland Moller and Albert Rudbeck Lindhart, but as you might expect, it's Mikkelsen who captivates on screen. He's not skilled as a cuddly parent, but his military training suits this mission. Were this to receive a U. S. remake (hopefully not), we could expect Liam Neeson or Denzel Washington as obvious choices for the lead.

NY & LA theaters May 14th, 2021 and everywhere May 21st, 2021.

Some suspense and interest at the beginning when the violent ex soldier with PTSD joins with quirky, troubled, but lovable nerds to solve possible murder of the soldier's wife. Then the story kind of loses the plot thread. Was the core crime ever solved? I don't even know. The movie spirals down into absurd gun battles and multiple killings that no one seems particularly upset about (are there police in Denmark?).

Too bad. Maybe with a better put together plot and less ridiculous violence, could have been good as the characters are entertaining and there is an attempt to demonstrate some psychological lesson about emotional healing (all the gunning down of bad guys is an odd context for that) . A huge glaring fault: no good villain, the vague criminal gang guys aren't much of a presence except to provide reasons for the violent scenes.

Mathilde's bicycle gets stolen and she has to ride with her mother. The car doesn't start and they have to take a train. Computer programmer Otto claims to be making a prediction program but it has no business value. He gets fired and gets on the same train. He gives his seat to Mathilde's mother. A train accident leaves the mother dead. One of the other dead victims is a witness ready to testify against the motorcycle gang, Riders of Justice. Using statistics, Otto is certain that the accident is a deliberate attack to kill the witness. He and his friend Lennart track down Mathilde's military father Markus (Mads Mikkelsen). With Otto's hacker friend Emmenthaler, the group decides to track down a suspect in the train derailment.

This is a Danish film. It's one of those shoot 'em up killing bad guys movies except it's not just that. It's funnier and more poetic. It's emotionally packed. It takes quirky turns. The characters are compelling, funny, and damaged. I can't wait for the English remake and fear it at the same time.

Another really good Scandi movie, this time hailing from Denmark, and featuring one of my favourite actors working today, Mads Mikkelsen. This is less the thriller it's sold as by the trailer and more of a study of grief and bereavement. As a recent widower, it really hit home with me, and Mikkelsen nails the complexities of the part perfectly. It's also packed full of deep characterisation, realism, perfectly judged quirky comedy, and a few fine thriller aspects to boot. Nothing not to love here.