Polar

Polar is a graphic novel adaptation that provides a little bit of everything. Action set pieces, gun fights, graphic torture, sex, over the top characters, interesting casting and some hilarious moments.

Mads Mikkelsen stars and excels in a highly entertaining action movie centering around an aging hitman in the final weeks before retirement. If he reaches retirement age he is due a pension payment of 8 million dollars and his employer is adamant that will not happen.

The obvious comparison of this movie is John Wick, but Polar has a very different style and over the course of three movie theres a lot more depth to the Wick movies in terms of the world they live in. I find the best way to compare this movie is a combination of a Liam Neeson action movie (the protagonist and core story), Guy Ritchie's gansgter movies (direction and editing style) and your typical superhero movie (for the lacklustre minions and over the top super villain).

The most questionable element of the movie is the casting of comedy actor Matt Lucas in the villain role. In my opinion he provides an entertaining and over the top performance to the character., which sits well with the overall movie, that being said it does feel fairly cartooney but it does work. I can imagine a different casting, would have provided a fairly drastic tonal shift of the whole film which may not have been an improvement.

Ultimately Polar is a highly enjoyable movie that looks and and sounds great with action of all kinds.

Quite a poor critical reception, but having just watched it myself I can't help that many of the reviews have missed the point of this violent slice of entertainment. While for the most part what they say IS true (clunky dialogue, silly, poorly paced), they could also add slick, humourous and stylish to that list. The corridor scene - a highlight in the trailer misses the mark and would have benefitted with better choreography but was enjoyable all the same. The Female characters, empowered one minute, gratuitously undressed the next, don't make sense other than to advance the plot and pleasure the men. It did feel a lot like the graphic novel in parts though and contrary to what I've read elsewhere Mads Mikkelsen's understated, world weary portrayal is brilliant, even if Hudgens is underused (as are are most of the supporting cast). Style over substance? Maybe. But as a ultra violent comic book popcorn flick I think it works pretty well, and whether it happens or not I'd love to see the sequel it sets up in the closing scenes. I'd say watch it yourself and form your own opinion.

I really didn't expect to like this with a 6.5 critic rating.

However, within a few minutes of watching, I found myself chuckling at the odd and playful style they took with the film, somewhat reminding me of a videogame.

It's enjoyable and I think worth a watch and a decent action film.

The storyline is very simple, a top assassin named Mads(Duncan aka "The Black Kaiser") is settling into retirement whereas his former employer identify him as a liability to the firm. So he sends a group of ruthless killers (young assassins) to find and finish him. The movie is based on a graphic novel: "Polar: came from the cold". Although I've not read the comic but I can guarantee that the team has done justice with stylish action choreography and gun fights full of gore, contains brief nudity plus appealing cinematography and music add-on to make it 'next' in violent movie genre. The cast comprises of Katherine (Vivian), Vanessa (Camille) and equal amount of shares for Ruby(Sindy), Matt (Blut) and guest appearance from Knoxville (Michael). It is a must watch if you're fan of movies like John Wick, Punisher and Equalizer. Since it is based on a graphic novel , the one-liners are really awesome before the kill:

Vivian: Heard you stopped smoking? The black Kaiser: "Figured, it wouldn't kill me"

I don't know what critics are going to rate it but this movie has everything which can give a high dose of adrenaline rush. Just don't miss it!

Novice (mainly music videos and short film - only a handful of full length feature films) director Jonas Åkerlund, and novice screenwriter Jayson Rothwell, did an outstanding job creating a crazy action noir film adaptation from the graphic novel by Víctor Santos.

The directing was outstanding - props to Jonas Åkerlund for nailing this one. The great cinematography and use of high-contract colors really added to the film, as did his camera work. The screenplay's use of character introductions - although done many times before, worked really well, and combined with the writing and directing, gave this film a Quentin Tarantino feel.

At first I felt the characters were way too animated and overshadowed Mads Mikkelsen's monotonic and bland character, and thus was disappointed in this film. But as the story progressed, I felt this wasn't your typical 'assassin retires' movie. The story developed slowly, and I do feel the 118 min length was a little long, but the pace kept up well, help keep me interested and intrigued, and eventually found myself to start liking it.

The actors where cast perfectly and performed really well . The soundtrack by Deadmau5 was perfect for this film.

I wanted to hate this B-grade film, but ended up loving it! This is one of those films that stay with you long after you've seen it, and I feel in time will become a cult classic. I do hope for a part 2 - and judging by some unexpected and surprisingly well placed surprises, I'm guessing that will happen.

The critics got this one wrong. Yes, it may not be for everyone, but going in not expecting much, I became a fan. A well deserved 8/10 from me. And if anyone thinks this is a fake review, click my username and you will see my 300+ reviews. :)