Tag: mads mikkelsen

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022, dir. David Yates)

With Grindelwald rising, Newt Scamander and friends try to stop a war between magicals and muggles. Plot-tastic third instalment of the inconsistent Harry Potterverse prequel series. More fan service this time around, plus a focus on getting the series wrapped up in case the projected Parts 4 and 5 disapparate. Zippy, but for diehards only really.

Here’s the trailer.

Riders of Justice [AKA Retfærdighedens Ryttere] (2020, dir. Anders Thomas Jensen)

A soldier teams up with three data specialists to get revenge for his wife’s death. What sets itself up as a straightforward action thriller quickly develops into a black comedy that’s touching, outrageous, and daring in all kinds of ways. Highly recommended.

Chaos Walking (2021, dir. Doug Liman [and Fede Alvarez])

On a world where male thoughts are visualised, a young man helps a stranded female astronaut. Ham-fisted loose adaptation of Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go. OK performances help, but a cut-and-shut script and dangling subplots evidence the movie’s troubled production.

Here’s the trailer.

Arctic (2018, dir. Joe Penna)

A crashed pilot tries to survive in the frozen Arctic. Terrific version of a survival story archetype that’s perhaps familiar to viewers. Nevertheless, this near-silent movie delivers in conviction, thrills, emotion and in a driven leading performance from Mikkelsen. Recommended.

Rogue One [AKA Rogue One: A Star Wars Story] (2016, dir. Gareth Edwards)

A small group of rebels try to steal the plans to the Death Star. Superior side mission from the Star Wars universe, answering a small plot question from the 1977 movie. By no means essential, but nevertheless rousing space opera fun, and lovingly designed.

Want another view? Here’s Xussia’s tuppenceworth.

Casino Royale (2006, dir. Martin Campbell)

Bond battles a private banker for terrorists. Casino Royale does a lot of things well: a series reboot, an introduction to the Daniel Craig era, and a film that connects to its source novel. It goes on too long, with perhaps one ending too many, but this one of the strongest series entries.

Doctor Strange (2016, dir. Scott Derrickson)

A vain medic discovers new powers after searching for a cure for lost surgical skills. Satisfactory origin story which suffers from having its source material plundered by other popcult properties, tho gets revenge by borrowing world-bending imagery from Inception.

Fancy a second opinion? Here’s Lemonsquirtle’s take.