Coming out just as ANOTHER ROUND (DRUK)/’20 blew up internationally, especially for lead Mads Mikkelsen, and having to the fight head-winds of COVID closures, this exceptional (and exceptionally) violent/funny shaggy-dog revenge tale hid in plain sight without making its mark Stateside as it had elsewhere. A pity, as all those stars on our poster prove entirely deserved. Co-writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen (past & future Mikkelsen collaborator) doesn’t put a foot wrong or miss a beat in a film that swings wildly in tone from punishing tragedy to wild shoot-‘em-up. Lean & mean as a Don Siegel film, it also sports a finesse not much seen in Siegel, with Mikkelsen as a borderline psychotic war vet, back home to see his daughter after his wife is killed in some freak subway incident. Only problem, a trio of ‘on-the-spectrum’ statistician geniuses are convinced it was a planned killing by a criminal outfit known as the Riders of Justice. A court witness against them was the real target while one of the trio, now suffering from survivor’s guilt, was collateral damage along with Mikkelsen’s dead wife. Falling into an uneasy working relationship with the easily triggered Mikkelsen, the computer nerds download enough info to see that the strongly organized gang is just too big for a mere four men to take on . . . but maybe not for one when that guy is a one-man wrecking crew (think Navy Seals) and as motivated for revenge as Mikkelsen is. One smart film festival gave Mikkelsen top acting honors for this and DRUK, but you’re not gonna get many props for something this enjoyably disreputable. Even with Jensen getting top perfs from everyone on board in some honestly surprising turns. A young Ukrainian ‘rent boy’ and Mikkelsen’s slightly chubby teen daughter both standouts among the fine, intensely likable crowd working thru some damn clever twists that really add up for a change. And those three computer guys? They just might be the Scarecrow, Tinman & Lion of R-Rated mayhem.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY/LINK: Shame on Hollywood for not picking this one up for remake and going for DRUK which will never work. (Chris Rock likely directing Leonardo DeCaprio. Yikes!) And even more shame for seeing just how richly textured & beautifully made a big commercial actioner can be done for a cool 5 mill. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/02/druk-another-round-2020.html
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