Max Manus

This film is one that I have waited for a long time awaiting it's theatrical release.

When that came I were not disappointed,alltough they did leave out a LOT of really exiting stuff. f.ex: his eventful trip around the globe via neutral Sweden and pre war(Barbarossa) Russia then to Turkey where they were almost ensnared by two beautiful female German agents.Then to North Africa(Egypt) were they almost joined the British 8th army,but didn't because they would be seen as deserters by the Norwegian army then.

They also shot down a french plane that were attacking them in the Mediterranean,then via cape town ultimately to New york and then via convoy to England,I think a sequel is in order to cover this journey. That being said ,this is by far the best Norwegian or foreign for that matter film I have ever seen,the effects is beautiful and blends in perfectly,the story have been comprised a bit to fit in a movie script and I understand that perfectly as I went to film school myself. Production value is top notch in this and you can really see every dollar(or kroner) is put on that screen. Hennies portrayal is spot on,so are the other performances. I would warmly recommend this film to everyone especially those who are interested in WW2 history.

PS: I read a review on here that said Manus never fought in the Finnish campaign,while it is true that most of the Norwegian volunteers never got to the front (all from alcoholism to bad nerves,a total of 128 Norwegian troops reached the Salla front and were put into the Swedish "friviligakåren" (volunteer corps). Please do your research properly if you are going to make statements like that.

I just watched this film. I had no idea really what the film was about, I had never heard of Max Manus.

I had high hopes after reading the reviews here, but maybe having high hopes made this movie fail a little for me.

It was good, but I feel a little confused about many things. I will not go into the details here, but I just feel the film should have been longer. Everything just happens without much explanation (I think it is made in such a way assuming that the viewers already know the facts, but alas, outside of Norway nobody knows anything about the Norwegian resistance) so many times I was left wondering.

I would have liked to have learned about Great Britain (especially Scotland) and how the relationship between them and Norwegian resistance was formed and how they travelled between the countries. I know at one point fishing boats from Scotland were rescuing people from Norway, but I have never seen this depicted in a film.

But over all, this was a good film, very beautiful cinematography and very well acted. It was nice to hear Norwegian too, I don't understand it, but it added to the authenticity of it and really made you feel a connection with the gang.

In Norway, Max Manus was a hero. And, I am sure that because of this that "Max Manus: Man of War" was such as successful film. Norwegians flocked to it like lemmings. However, if you aren't from Norway, I doubt if the movie will bowl you over like it did these folks. Now I am NOT saying it's a bad film--Manus was an incredible guy and the film is exciting. However, the film isn't perfect and I only mildly recommend it. Why? Well, although there are lots of wonderful scenes, the film has two huge problems. One, and this is a personal one, it uses the cursed unsteady cam--featuring lots of shots that look they were shot by a cinematographer with the DTs. The film shook so much on many of the closeups I felt like I was becoming motion sick! Second, the film is VERY sketchy. Too often, the film jumps from one scene to the next--many, many months apart. And, because of this, some of the characters are woefully underdeveloped. There apparently was supposed to be some sort of budding romance between Manus and his contact with the British consulate--but you'd never really know it--it just happened very abruptly. The same was Definitely the case with the blonde lady--who was she, why was she featured in the film and why should we care?! By the way, although this is an exciting film, be forewarned that it's VERY bloody. If you don't want to see tons of blood and gruesomeness, try another film.

The film evolves around Max Manus as one of the central heroes of the young Norwegian resistance during the World War II. Together with Gunnar Kjakan Sønsteby, Gregers Gram and the other brave youngsters not willing to see the free Norway become a part of the German Nazi empire The Third Reich.

After the fun flick "Bandidas" no one expected Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg to be able to do such a correct and true told story of one the Norwegian resistance heroes. But they have managed to make a great film, without messing up in any way.

We get the feeling that the heroism was not just a one-sided thing. For every action the resistance made, more civilians had to die. Max Manus, brilliantly played by Aksel Hennie, was an adventurer, and very lucky to be one of the survivors, more than once thanks to the cold-minded Gunnar Kjakan Sønsteby, warning him about the reality of it all.

The film also shows the psychological effects on the adventurer, who got to be a heavy drinker during the war, and after. Being a hero is just a part of the whole story.

A strong part of this film is the human relations. The boyish ways and friendships. The love-story is beautifully made. One can really relate to the persons. That's good acting as well! Some find Fehmers girlfriend as unnecessary. I don't agree. This is to show that the Nazis had both charm and feelings too. This gives balance as well.

Some have been criticizing the Norwegian resistance for being young silly adventurers. Some of this might be a little bit true, but what they did, and what the sacrificed, is impressive. Most of us would not even think of trying, or dare, to do anything as to stop an invasion of a big and threatening force. Thank God for the likes of Max Manus. He never stopped believing that the Germans could be beaten, even though he was far down after losing his friends one by one in the battle for freedom.

A solid mark is given for true storytelling of brave young spirits, making Norway what the country is today.

It was a great movie. I was not bored for a second! Movies like this could very fast be ruined by to much focus on action, to much focus on drama or all to many characters. This movie handle all the parts very well. It's very good balanced movie. It goes on from 1940-1945 telling the story and feelings of Max Manus, who was a saboteur under the war. Good Norwegian action movies are rare, if you have some fearful memories of bad Norwegian movies, this will change your mind.

None Norwegians: I gave this movie 10, and that may be because I'm a Norwegian and feel this movie in a different way then you. But it's no less then a 8 if I should be harsh. This will most likely "pop" up in your rental store as a DVD with subtitles. If you not used to subtitles it can be hard I know, but it's worth it (And you will hear some German, English and wonderful Norwegian-English in the movie). It's a rental, heck, it's one to own!