Mammon

Nordic Noir genre is alive and kicking as Norwegians prove with this excellent addition to a whole bunch of quality entertainment based on Scandinavian crime fiction. I enjoyed season 1 of ''Mammon'' but I thought that it was a rather poor production, kind of a tv series''b-movie''. Nevertheless it managed to keep the viewer glued to his seat due to its intricate plot and notable actor performances, mainly by Jon Øigarden and Nils Ole Oftebro as two journalists of VG newspaper, one of the most popular ones in Norway. Season 2 though was close to perfection. Great actors joined the cast like Trond Espen Seim, Ingar Helge Gimle, Anders Danielsen Lie and others, with the first two being marvelous in their roles as frenemies in the country's governing party, often adding a comic touch to the tightly-woven, elaborate plot. The story begins with the murder of one of VG's prime journalists and unfolds in a nice, steady pace, leaving no questions unanswered in the end. The plot consists of shady politicians, corrupt lawyers, femme fatales and has every ingredient of a superb television production. Nordic Noir fans are bound to love ''Mammon'' and the finale will leave them begging for more.

One big pompous belly flop of an attempt at nordic noir.

Norwegian political, conspiracy, action thriller. Lost of twists, nothing becoming relatively clear until the end. Some familiar Nordic faces makes this a good drama.

Mammon (which is biblical for material wealth or money) is advanced mix of crime, corruption, religion, rituals, media criticism and bad childhoods. Sounds as a lot? Well it is, and this series is a deep woven mystery, which is almost impossible to read before you the last episode.

That is of course positive in a world of a TV-series and films which are all too like. This differs from most, due to it being a mystery involving media, politicians and old school time secret networks.

We follow a newspaper journalist, Peter Verås, which is reporting on a case which entangles him way more than is good for the job, the paper, his family and friends. And he can't grasp what it is about, but it goes right down the core of his own family.

Some will love this due to it's complexity, others will have a hard struggle with understanding the complicated plot. This series has been a great success even before the first episode was screened, and sold to the folds of countries eager to get more of Nordic noir. Therefore the plans for a second season is already on the way, which once more will follow the journalist, I guess. This series goes right into that category, though it's more a mystery than a crime story.

The series was immensely popular when it was aired, having a 40 percent of the total marked when being aired, but was criticized for having advanced surround sound, making it difficult to grasp all being said on a small TV-set, but great on a surround system. As dubbed, or with subtitles, this will not be a problem outside Norway. From the third episode they decided to subtitle the series even on Norwegian TV.

It was also criticized for being unrealistic due to how a Norwegian independent newspaper would react to be scrutinized by the investigative police, but this came more out of pride of journalistic integrity than reality. I'm afraid the integrity isn't that strong, even in an otherwise low corruption nation as Norway.

I both liked it, and didn't, but I just had to watch the series through, and didn't have a clue who was responsible.

Exciting, yes, but easy to understand, no! Interesting due to the ethic dilemmas, yes, but easy to make a second season, no!

This review is strictly for Season 2.

First of all, it's MUCH better than season 1. As for Season 2 . . .

I had to go back and watch it twice. The first time I viewed it, the plot was too complex for me to fully penetrate. Primarily because there were so many people doing villainous things, it was hard to keep track of the characters. Usually, you can differentiate between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." And that helps to make a distinction between characters. But during Season 2, the characters all mix together in your head because seemingly none of them can be trusted.

IMHO,Season 2 is truly phenomenal. And the proof of that is, the plot entirely held up under a second viewing. I DID fast forward through a couple of action scenes because I already knew what was about to happen. But I took my time with the dialogue scenes and they all held up well.

Lately, I've been disappointed with the Camilla Lackberg crime series. Viewing Mammon for the second time reveals why. Mammon Season 2 is textured and although there are many "relationship" scenes, they do not devolve into soap opera style dialogues.

The plot of the second season IS quite intricate but pretty much every scene is credible. My only criticism would be the writer included a couple of scenes relying upon the "sneak up from behind the female" shtick. Which is mystifying because the writer was Margrete Soug Kåset, a female. Any woman knows females can sense when someone is staring at them from behind, let alone trying to sneak up on them. Scenes where the bad guy sneaks up on the female from behind are just NOT credible. So one has to wonder what Margrete Soug Kåset was thinking when she wrote such nonsense, demeaning the perceptive capabilities of women.

Having watched it twice, I can attest that the production values of Mammon 2 are exceptional and finely detailed. All of the scenes are expertly lit and well choreographed. Furthermore, there are no "clunker" actors. Every character is believable.

I've written several reviews and this is the first 10 I've given. Some will say the plot is too complex. But anyone who views it for a second time will realize the story would not have held together if the filmmakers had simplified the plot. Furthermore, this is a mystery that is satisfying to watch more than once.

Mammon - Season 2 is every bit as good as Bron/Broen and much better than Engrenages.