Conflict

Aku Louhimies offers well-written TV-entertainment. The realism surprises - these are the threat images that Finland has been preparing for for years. The Ukrainian crisis made this more real. Every Finnish reservist will surely recognize the series' attempt to respect realism. The story is written from the perspective of a Finnish soldier. It's delightful. This is not traditional American war imagery, but offers a view of how Europe wants to deal with these issues. Definitely worth of watching!

Although the characters are a bit stereotypical, their actions are enjoyable to watch. At the time of writing this review, the series has progressed to its fifth episode. The battle scenes have already become more intense. Hopefully, the sixth episode will maintain this intensity. I believe that a fairly large budget has been spent on the series. It is reflected in the production in a good way. A lot of defense forces equipment has been included and even Swedish Gripen fighters.

It would be really nice if the series also gained international exposure. I believe that Finland's position on the world map - on Russia's neighbor - makes this series great to watch all over the world.

This show had a lot of potential but I personally sensed an absence of good writing and directing. The acting was often very monotone and was missing authentic expression. I was having a hard time caring for the characters. The threat wasn't portrayed well enough and I found myself bothered by the lack of realism overall. I would've loved to see big invader troops with attitudes that could've been felt through the screen. I realise that stressful situations can make us react in ways we can't predict, but instead of lots of hesitation and even sluggishness I would've wanted to see stern strong leader figures with determination and fire in their veins (not only talking about the president). We have a huge high-stake situation in our hands and yet I, as a viewer, didn't feel it. I didn't feel the rush, the stress, the fear of the unknown.

Some aspects I liked, mostly the filming, set design and the editing. I understand the funding can be tough to find in a small country, shows like this easily eat away dozens of millions. Finland has some breathtaking scenery and landscape, those drone videos of nature really please the eye. The diversity of actors and languages was refreshing but also felt a bit forced.

My overall enjoyment score as a viewer is 6/10. If we were to compare this only to other Finnish shows, I would go a bit higher.

Terribly sorry, but even the premise: that a few paratroopers could accomplish anything of military or territorial value, and that foreign military equipment and soldiers could "slip ashore" from "Venezuelan" ships unnoticed, is stupid and unrealistic. Even more strange, no plausible motive is given for why a "foreign force" would take this action, which in real life only could lead to said force being thrown back into the sea in record time. This unrealistic premise is then combined with the nowadays requisite and formulaic "conflicts" amongst soldiers and political leaders, and some totally unnecessary sex scenes. Apart from some refreshing exceptions, the acting is most often wooden, probably because of the likewise stilted writing. Even seasoned, normally competent actors can't seem to get it together. Like everyone is satisfied with the first take. To top it all off, the music score feels uninspired, and curiously detached from events rolling by. Production values are sometimes pretty good, but really feel wasted on this drawn out series (two episodes would have been enough).

An interesting premise that is perhaps not that far removed from real life. Mostly english language, it even has some Americans in the otherwise finnish cast.

The first few episodes do a good job of building a sense of confusion on the ground and in senior government circles. The conclusion however is a bit of an anti-climax.

Only has a small cast, the Finnish landscape is gorgeous, photography is good, the acting is pretty limited, I imagine it was made on a small budget and seemed to rely on stock footage for things like warships, aircraft were mostly absent. Overall, it feels more like a documentary than a drama.

This was a relevant series to the times. Finland has changed, Finlandisation is no more. The policies of Kekkonen and others have been trashed in the new reality. The series revealed this decisively and showed that there were still relics of a bygone age. Prime Minister Kai Laavakura hadn't grasped the fundamentals of the shift and wanted to negotiate, even illicitly treating with shadowy forces. President Linnea Saaristo has "got it", despite her inexperience, and takes a firm grip on the situation despite exposure to realpolitik in the shape of a disinterested United States.

Set pieces were extremely well done and realistic. However, the kill ratio between the Finnish conscripts and troops against professional mercenaries was exaggerated and strained credulity.

I loved the scenes of the army on the streets of Helsinki, a city I know and love. One of the final scenes was of a tank by the statue of Marshal Mannerheim which seemed appropriate and a wake for a dead soldier portrayed the drink the Marshal immortalised.

Access to other state buildings was granted such as the Presidentinlinna and Eduskuntatalo. I used to live in Finland and it was so warming to see the old streets I used to know so well. I was rooting for the President all the way.

This might be a niche interest but I would still recommend this to an international audience. It's a timely reminder of what might happen after the disaster of Ukraine and the non--attributable warfare originally used there in the Crimea. We live in perilous times.