L'ancien combat

Couldn't stop watching the first 4 episodes but the last 2 and especially the ending is disappointing. Still worth watching though, as long as one doesn't mind the story getting thinner...

A simple story, typical the good cop vs the bad ruthless drug traffic dealer, chapters are gripping and intense. Main character a war veteran playing an undercover crook playing in the burrow of the bad guys. The end result a blend of an American action series with a Scandinavian noir. Ok but nothing else

This series takes place in Denmark and the dialogues are all in Danish. Therefre I don't it's easy to make comments on the quality of the actor's performances. Reading what the actors say and trying to match the subtitles to their faces is decidedly different from experiencing the performances, needless to say. However, the actors seem very talented. I can't say with certainty that the actors delivered good performances, but they did at least seem to be acting well. The characters themselves appeared quite interesting, and the show did seem very well-written. In one particularly emotionally striking scene that shows the series' potential as a drama, the widowed detective's child asks his deceased father's commanding officer if he gave the order that got the boy's father killed. The officer replies only "yes," but the tears in his eyes and pained expression on his face tell an entire story of tragedy and loss.

This six part Danish crime series is centred on CC, an ex-soldier, and Louise, a police officer whose late husband served under CC in Afghanistan. When the police are looking way to infiltrate a biker gang, The Wolves, that is believed to be involved in the drug trade, Louise suggests CC. He agrees and sets about befriending Mads, a young man on the fringes of the group who is keen to be fully included. Some gang members aren't keen on CC but after he proves useful he is accepted by Tom, the leader. It isn't long before CC learns that the gang is expecting a consignment of heroin from the Italian Mafia. There is also a rival group to worry about. As the story progresses and CC gets deeper involved he must question just how far he is prepared to go to get the job done.

While this isn't the best crime drama to come out of Denmark, it is after all up against some stiff opposition, it is entertaining. Dar Salim impresses as protagonist CC, Danica Curcic is solid as Louise and Lars Ranthe is suitably menacing as Tom; the rest of the cast is solid too. At only six episodes in length things never drag and there are plenty of exciting moments and ramping tension throughout. Towards the end things get a melodramatic, perhaps a little bit too much, but it didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the series. Overall I wouldn't say this is a must see but it passes the time well so I'd still recommend it to fans of the genre.

These comments are based on watching the series in Danish with English subtitles.

The acting is overall good, as is the setting and camera-work. The story is serviceable and lends itself to some good moments of suspense. Action-sequences are good. My main concern is the atrocious dialogue and lack of character depth - Tom, the main villain is particularly two-dimensional (he's only missing a monocle) . I appreciate that there in all certainty excists coarse language between gangmembers, but the constant "danish f-bombs" wears really thin after 3 episodes - bad writing. Some of the police procedure seems extremely far-fetched or downright inconceivable, again - bad writing. Is every character in this series a raging alcoholic?

I may seem harsh; I want to like this but I can't help but compare it to "Sons of Anarchy", a much lengthier series, yes, but with both a much stronger characterisations and story.