Polar (2019)

This is a bit of a strange movie. Part of it feels like a pretty good, dark and gritty thriller, part of it feels like a wannabe Tarantino movie and part of it feels like a comedy. Overall I would classify it as a B-movie but a pretty good B-movie. As strange as the movie is I have to say that I liked it.

I kind of watched this movie on a whim. It popped up on my Netflix home screen and I kind of liked the blurb. A type of story that I like. Then I saw that Mads Mikkelsen played the lead role and this sold me on it. I quite like Mads Mikkelsen in these kind of roles.

The movie starts off in a fairly normal way for this kind of movie. You know, some assassinations, introduction of the hero, the bad guys, the even badder guys and all that. It is fairly clear already from the start that there will be blood splatter. That it would reach the levels it did towards the end of the movie was a bit of a surprise though.

I did like Mads Mikkelsen in his role as Duncan, the somewhat brooding and grim assassin starting his retirement. But then I’m not really surprised. It’s a perfect role for him. The rest of the actors, well let’s just say that their acting was for the most part forgettable. Maybe with the exception of Matt Lucas as Blut. But then, his role was so comical and wacky so one wonders if it required acting skills or just a good dose of insanity (or some chemical products).

The blurb states that he is deemed a liability. Well, that is not exactly the truth actually. It is more that his overly wacky boss is trying to screw him. This is where it starts to get into comedy land. Already in the first couple of scenes it is clear that this guy is a nut job. Then he let’s loose his assassins and at that point the movie escalates in a orgy of blood, violence and comedy.

I cannot really make up my mind if it would have been a better movie if the violence would have been less comical or not. With the comedy this movie becomes a bit unusual and sticks out. Without it it would risk becoming just another thirteen on a dozen assassin thrillers. Also, as comical as it is, it is fairly well done.

Anyway, there is of course a pretty dramatic and violent fight as the movie draws to a close. I quite liked that one. There is also a little twist that I actually did not see coming at the end.

Overall, it was a fun movie to watch.

**What a bloody mess.**

I the middle of the film, I stopped serveral times and wondered how to salvage this trainwreck, if I was the writer.

The Mikkelsen and Hudgens scenes are strong, emotional, well written and acted, and make sense. And Mikkelsen is excellent for this sort of action hero thing - for which there are good action scenes, iconic even.

But all of that doesn't tie in with the violent clowns. That part has some clever moments, but really daft hours - like, most of the movie. I wonder how the script came to be - whether a good original story got script-doctored by the wrong people. Add some wanton violence, some sex scenes, some torture and more torture, daft villains - lot's of unnecessary stuff that's just ups the rating without giving anything of value. I kept wondering "why".

There is a number of good bits, which seem familiar; there is a lot of crap that feels like a complete WOMBAT. Someone OK'd this, produced, made, left it in the cut - and I don't see why.

This could've been an original, violent and interesting movie. But it was utterly messed up.

Won't watch again, but managed to finish it.

This is something... I think I might've enjoyed it, marginally.

I'm not entirely sure how, to be honest. For the most part I was pretty nonplussed by <em>'Polar'</em>, though by the conclusion it kinda grew on me if I'm to be truthful. I kinda seperate the film into two parts, the bits with Mads Mikkelsen & Vanessa Hudgens and the bits without Mads Mikkelsen & Vanessa Hudgens. It's like chalk and cheese, really.

Mikkelsen and Hudgens are certainly pros and, by the end, an almost endearing duo. Any scene involving them fluctuates from decent to good, nothing more admittedly but positive stuff from those two still. Aside from them, I do like how the film commits to its gory kills and somewhat gratuitous sexual content. It works, just about.

What doesn't work, however, is those other characters that appear onscreen. Matt Lucas is hit-and-miss but probably just about passable, though every member of the supposedly specialist hit squad just didn't work for me. Ruby O. Fee, Fei Ren and others try but as a group they just didn't give off any badass or fun to watch aura... almost cringe, in fact.

It is far, far adrift of being a great film or even one I'd recommend with all my heart. However, it entertains... just. I'd be up for seeing Mads Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgens together again in this set-up, which is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/cannes-2022-mads-mikkelsen-dark-kaiser-polar-jonas-akerlund-1235144766/" rel="nofollow">reportedly</a> something that'll happen soon as it seems they are remaking this 2019 flick already... with similar people behind it. How intriguing.