Polar

I would never believe that one film by Jonas Akerlund will leave me completely ecstatic (Lords of Chaos) while another one of his will almost leave me with a rash. Even though the music is by Deadmau5 and it stars Mads Mikkelsen. Such attractions are hard to refuse. Unfortunately, the only thing worth watching is the opening scene with Johnny Knoxville, which would be more effective as a stand-alone short movie rather than an introduction to a feature one. This movie annoyed me from the very beginning to the very end. (16.04.2020)

Right at the b eginning of the year, Netflix pulls off an excellent action caper in the style of John Wick, though mostly it's closer to Japanese madness. Mads Mikkelsen as a retired veteran and the world's best assassin is absolutely brilliant. He would love to retire already, but his former employer now considers him a liability and wants to remove him, so he sends an A-team of crazy assassins to take him out. Mads, however, is always one step ahead of the game and takes no shit from anyone. Brilliantly staged, extravagantly styled, properly action packed, incredibly gory, and packed with sex appeal. This is how I imagine a Hitman movie should be made. An impressive audiovisual B-movie ride that will please fans of raunchy, kinky sex, uncompromising anti-heroes and a dose of gritty adrenaline action. The twist at the end is decent and bring in a sequel already. 80% satisfaction. (28.01.2019)

A funny intro with Knoxville, an emotional level with a girl-protégé that works and a very fast, halfbaked final reckoning with the bad guys. Polar is a silly pulp movie with too many unnecessary deaths of innocents that are supposed to be funny and bad guys that are supposed to be cool. And the charismatic actor Mikkelsen, who doesn’t fit into this insanity at all, but paradoxically is the only thing that makes it kind of watchable. (07.02.2019)

Proper polar massacre. I was expecting boredom from the first reviews and actually stopped looking forward to it, but Mads Mikkelsen never disappoints and neither does Netflix. At least not in uncompromising violence. Because Polar is an absolute slaughterhouse , one disgustingly scene is followed by another until I had to look away. Mads keeps shooting incredibly, leaving behind continuously disfigured corpses, and the ending is simply pure brutal disgust. There's even a nod to John Wick, too bad it only lasts 5 seconds. But what's more important, it's fun to watch and two hours fly by. Whether it's due to interesting directorial cuts or kitschy color saturation or steamy bedroom scenes. Mads just nails everything and I feel in the air that a sequel will be here in no time. (30.01.2019)

There are industries where employers' tendency not to pay into pension funds brings only unpleasant things. Polar does not hide its comic book origins, and the obscure harlequins (Blut rules with a Gorbachev-like birthmark on his face) jump from one pop-art panel to another. However, all of this is just insignificant scenery surrounding the iconic hitman, who, at the end of his career, carefully drills a hole in his forehead before sending a bullet through it. Deciding between three and four bullet holes in the head is made easier by the presence of exaggeration (the respectful departure of the boss's bodyguards) and, above all, the lead actor, who, as the descendant of a man named One-eye from Valhalla Rising, takes on not only his practices during the film but also his exact appearance. Well, that's master Mikkelsen. The man is hardening on the outside, and his charisma fills every crack. (12.02.2019)