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Riders of Justice – 2020 Jensen
- Riders of Justice achieves a rare little trifecta- it is funny, it is filled with good action, and it is still is far more intelligent than the average film.
- The film is set in Estonia. It opens with a chain of events (bike stolen, skipped school) resulting in a train accident and the wife of Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) and mother of Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) is killed. Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is one of the survivors of the “accident”. Otto is a statistical data theorist, and he eventually connects with Markus about his theory of the accident.
- At the 10-minute mark Mads is shot in shallow focus in profile with the lights in the background like the most famous shot in Todd Haynes’ Carol.
- 2020 was a big year for Mads with this and Another Round. Here, the casting as Markus leans into some of Mads’ past work in the action/crime genre. He is a military-trained stoic “I want to avenge my wife” figure (and emotionally vacant father for young Mathilde). A big part of the comedic success is the pairing of Mads as a badass with Otto and his revenge-of-the-nerds-like crew. In one hilarious scene, one of Otto’s crew flips out about the poor resolution of the monitors he is forced to work on. This crew becomes a sort of surrogate family for Markus and Mathilde.
- In a great formal choice Jensen decides to end the film with how it begun- picking up and finishing the story with the girl with the stolen bike.
- Recommend but not in the top ten of 2020
Drake2022-03-16T21:50:08-04:00
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@Drake-What are the archivable films do you have for Mads Mikkelsen?
@Lionel- just the unvetted list here:
1996- Pusher
2002- Open Hearts
2006- After the Wedding
2006- Casino Royale
2009- Valhalla Rising
2012- The Hunt
2020- Another Round
2020- Riders of Justice
@Drake – you have Pusher 1 & 3 in the archives but not 2? I thought it was better than the first film and one of Mikkelsen’s best performances. These were my notes when I watched a few years ago:
With more experience, Refn revisited the Pusher films with this sequel eight years after the first. The first 50-odd minutes are decent, the character study is being setup, Mikkelsen’s character returns from the first film and is put in the center this time. He’s a useless criminal that fails at whatever he attempts and lacks the respect he wants. There’s a nice moment of background architecture and some funny shenanigans in these first 50 minutes, but the real explosive stuff comes at the engagement party. Refn’s signature colour usage playing into everything, the bathroom in green, the bar in dark red. It’s overly ambitious and leans more towards beautiful than gritty unlike Pusher I. When Mikkelsen attempts to assassinate a prostitute near the end, her bedroom is completely drenched in red and it’s stunning while Mikkelsen expressively sits there soaking in it.
The ending is brilliant, the tracking shot of Mikkelsen running with the baby, the yellow-green lighting on the bus and the final closeup. Hard-hitting stuff.
HR. Trades in the energy of Pusher I for a more stylised and expressive character study all accomplished in ninety minutes.
@Harry- very interesting- thanks for sharing- quick possible I missed on this one
@Drake-Have you seen Susanne Bier’s Brothers (2004) with Connie Nielsen? It was even remade in Hollywood with Maguire, Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
@Lionel- I have, yes
@Drake-Both the original and the Hollywood remake?
@Lionel- Yes- I have seen both