FilmSnobReviews

Title: Polar
MPAA Rating: TV-MA
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

What It Is: Duncan Vizla (Mikkelsen) is approaching his 50th birthday. On such a day the company he works for must pay him out a large sum as a pension. He also must retire. When his boss Mr. Blut (Matt Lucas) plans to take his pension and reinvest it he takes his best younger assassins to the task. Perhaps however the team underestimated the aging murderer. As all he truly wanted was to relax in the cold air of Montana. That might prove to be a fatal mistake…for them.

What We Think: Well…this isn’t a great film. Narratively speaking this thing is a mess. It’s a really fun mess. A really pretty mess. But a damn mess. Mikkelsen does his best to make us forget about just how much of a cluster it is by being a badass. Mads as an action star is just SUCH a good fit. Editing in this film is kind of a nightmare and it’s clear Jonas should stick to music videos. When you couple that with his black metal true story Lords of Chaos he’s now notorious for uneven cuts.

Our Grade: C-, I cannot recommend this. At least not very high. Luckily, it’s easy to get to as it is available right now on Netflix. This is the kind of thing that’s perfect for turning your brain off and playing it while you’re doing something far more important. Maybe washing your hair or clipping your fingernails or something. Really anything. In fact, I think Valhalla Rising is available on Netflix. This is a far better film and one that shows Mads in all his badass glory. Without the crap dialogue. Netflix is at it again. Sadly, we’ve got a ton more of their films coming out this year.