Riders Of Justice Review Movie
Riders Of Justice Review
As we wait to see Joel Coen to complete The Tragedy Of Macbeth and team up together with Ethan, Riders Of Justice will fill the Coen brothers' gap very nicely. It is a riot of broken people with a world that changes in a flash of comical humour and a no-punches-pulled, violent violence, Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen's film is based on concepts of predictability and probability however, it tells a tale that revels in unexpected twists, turns and a unique style.
It begins innocently enough as a cute Christmas story as, to the tune of "Little Drummer Boy", an innocent teenager, Mathilde, has her bike taken away. The theft marks the beginning of a series of small events like an automobile that isn't starting and a call from a friend that has bad news and an act of chivalry that lead to an accident that kills 11 people. One of the victims is Emma who is the spouse of soldiers Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) who is currently stationed in the desert and mother of teen Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeber who is a masterful portrayal of the sole voice of reason in the chaos). Markus comes home, but is too depressed to assist Mathilde and is unable to accept offers of the much-needed treatment. His anger turns to pain when the expert in probability Otto (Nikolaj Kaas) and his geeky companions Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro) show up at his residence with a connection to the crash as well as an idea that the train accident was fabricated by a gang of violent criminals, The Riders Of Justice, in the aim of destroying an important witness during an investigation. Armed with this knowledge, Markus plots to mete the retribution he deserves. revenge.
It's a tinned-down performance from Mikkelsen which allows his co-stars room to shine.
If this all could make Riders Of Justice sound like an action film by Liam Neeson but it's not. Jensen's film blends the hard-as nails idea with a carefully crafted palette of various shades including brutal action, absurdist comedy (a fight in the crime scene about cleaning supplies is incredible) emotional meditations, melancholy and a delightful sweetness. It's a film with an affinity for outsiders whether they're macho guys geeks, geeks, or even gay Ukrainian sexual slave named Bodashka (Gustav Lindh) who is a part of the gang's circle and is able to show every character weaknesses and flaws that ensure you're bound to support the characters.
With an edgy buzz cut and beard, this film shows Mikkelsen in his most tame even though at some point, he wears an ornamental Christmas jumper perfect as a man struggling to cope with the loss of his wife, and struggling to make contact with his son. This is a sluggish performance that allows his co-stars to shine. Bro performs as a loud-mouthed programmer, while Brygman is delightful as the charming hacker however, it's Kaas as a statistician Otto that gives the film a warm and gentle tone to balance the film's violent overtones.
This is a film that has lots of thoughts and perhaps too much , from the tumbling machismo of its protagonists as well as the nature of causality. But in the end, Riders Of Justice celebrates life's complex reality. It asserts that the world can't become a matter of algorithms or calculation of probabilities. Sometimes, you have to accept it as it is.
