Riders of Justice
directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
starring Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg , and Lars Brygmann
LeisureHeist Studio
While Lennart (Lars Brygmann) is off fighting a forever war, his wife dies in a subway accident so he returns to raise his teenage daughter Mathilde (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). His geeky math friends Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) and Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) point out some statistical oddities in the death, and soon they are all on a mad chase seeking a terrorist cell. Bullets fly and the body counts soar, and I’m impressed with the amount of firepower that exists in the small pacifist country of Denmark. Despite the ultra violence, Otto and Marcus provide comic relief as they learn how to use guns and stab bad guys. Otto is actually good at weapons, he’s an overweight mathematician who during gun training declared “Well it’s OBVIOUS how this thing goes together.” This is a well engineered action adventure film with solid motivations and bad guys that seem sincerely bad, and not just McGuffined into existence.
