Slå først Frede!

Before they made the unforgettable, iconic series revolving around, and titled after, The Olsen Gang(a lot of the ingredients for which are found in this), the five talented people without whom said franchise would never have existed, much less been what it was(until 1998... don't worry, I'm not going to get into that here), made this together. In case anyone is unclear on who I am referring to, I shall list them: Balling, whose excellent direction here takes a relatively simple(if thought through well, and jam-packed with creativity and impeccable little touches) approach to the potentially complex genre of spy flicks, whilst poking respectful fun at it, with countless details clearly inspired by the Bond films, three or four of them being out at the time this came out. Bahs, who put together the hilarious script, with sight gags, cleverness, parodying and some slapstick. Sprogøe, portraying the picture perfect, nearly flawless agent, Smith. Grunwald, playing the salesman who gets unintentionally involved in the plot. And last, but not least(...I swear that wasn't a fat joke), Bundgaard, as the spot-on villain. The story-telling is smooth and masters the communication, and most can follow this(honestly, you can get the gist of a lot of it without speaking the language, though I would definitely suggest getting a version with English subbing/dubbing). Pacing is great, this is not boring at any point, and it's genuinely entertaining from start to finish. There are plenty of gadgets, fights, chases and explosions, and the 90 minutes go by fast. This certainly isn't lacking in energy. Fabricius-Bjerre nails the tone for the music. The acting tends to be fitting, occasionally overdone. Persson was not cast for her skills in that particular area(one specific scene will tell you what the real reason was), though with that said, she really isn't required to do anything too deep, and she does quite well with what she's given, and seems to enjoy her time in front of the camera. There is eye-candy for males in this, including brief nudity. The violence is mild and entirely unlikely to upset anyone. I recommend this to any fan of anyone that had any part in the making of this. 7/10

This film is an absolutely must-see for all fans of old agent movies. "Slå først, Frede" is inspired by the early James Bond movies and uses James Bond terminology in a respectful, yet funny, way.

Enjoy!