Riders of Justice

'Riders Of Justice (2020)' is an anti-revenge thriller. Though it has moments of more traditional genre fare, it's far more interested in exploring its broken characters and potent underlying themes than it is in providing cathartically violent thrills. The piece is mostly a meditative drama about grief, trauma, family and healing. It also features a fair bit of rumination on coincidence and causality, ultimately positing that trying to trace exactly why things happen is as painfully pointless as it is practically impossible. It's a melancholic movie that dismantles not only the inherently harmful concept of vengeance, but also the culture of toxic masculinity that prevents many men from productively coming to terms with the trauma they've faced. The protagonist expresses his atheism early on and warns his daughter of the perils of assigning meaning to meaningless things, then spends much of the flick attempting to do exactly the same thing, searching for someone who he can blame for his horrific situation. For him, violence is the default response; he's much more comfortable pointing a gun at someone - and, even, pulling the trigger - than he is reconciling his own emotions. Sometimes, bad things happen. That's all there is to it. Of course, it'd be easier if there was always someone - or something - to blame for the bad things that we experience, but there often just isn't and that's okay. This is an incredibly poignant and relevant thematic underpinning. The film's exploration of it is both thought-provoking and emotionally affecting. It elevates the overall affair to something much more viscerally impactful than you'd perhaps expect. It's an intelligent, intriguing and extremely technically competent experience that never quite does what you expect it to. Its oddball characters are highly compelling, its performances are heartbreakingly realistic, its humour is often unexpectedly effective, its general vibe is very empathetic and its overall message is surprisingly hopeful. Its drama is as enjoyable as its infrequent but punchy action. It's a phenomenal picture that's as traditionally entertaining as it is thematically rich and emotionally resonant. As of now, it's my favourite film of 2021 (based on its UK release date). 8/10.

A bunch of misfits, most with anger issues, try to go on a rampage, led by a PTSD-suffering Mads Mikkelsen.

This movie features many of the best male danish actors. It has strong perfomances and a laugh-out riot dialogue, especially from the supporting cast, that you have to hear to believe.

It's not a revenge-movie per se, but deals with issues like parenthood, friendship, and forgiveness. Because of this, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and think it's the best movie to come out from Denmark in years.

"Riders of Justice" is an Action - Drama movie in which we watch a group of people doing some very dangerous and important actions without thinking a lot about them since they believe that they are doing it for the greater good.

I liked this movie very much because it had a very interesting plot that consisted of some plot twists that I did not expect and the combination of drama with some comic relief moments was simply amazing. The direction which was made by Anders Thomas Jensen was also very good and he succeeded on making us feel what his main characters being through and follow them on their journey. The interpretation of Mads Mikkelsen who played as Markus was simply outstanding and he proved his talent. Some other interpretations that have to be mentioned were Nikolaj Lie Kaas' who played as Otto, Nicolas Bro's who played as Emmenthaler and Lars Brygmann's who played as Lennart. Lastly, I have to say that "Riders of Justice" is an amazing movie and I strongly recommend everyone to watch it.

I became very impressed with Anders Thomas Jensen's new installment to his bizarre and unique film universe!

The film delivers comedy in top class, and have some impeccable acting performances particularly from Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, but the rest of the cast (Nicolas Bro, Lars Brygmann, Roland Møller, Andrea Gadeberg etc.) also does a good job!

The script and the lines were really well done. How the characters interact and talk to each other felt very natural, and none of it seemed "staged", which shines through as ATJ is one of the most talented screenwriters we have in Denmark.

I found the film's unique plot and its special "idea" to be incredibly thrilling, and made the film have a lot of thoughtful elements, where the cinema-goer is actually challenged intellectually, which we rarely see in Danish films.

All in all a great danish film!

9/10.

A darkly funny & emotionally riveting slice of Danish delight that's brought to life with the right amount of care, compassion & subversiveness, Riders of Justice makes for an amusing, heartbreaking & thoroughly captivating comedy of errors that balances simple co-incidences with clever orchestrations and is greatly uplifted by its handful of quirky characters who are brilliantly rendered by its fabulous cast.

Written & directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, the premise setup is quick, character introductions are swift and while humour is detectable in the most unlikely of places, the emotional beats do brim with an honesty & depth that shines through. Jensen is sensible in handling the themes of loss, grief, neglect, abuse & sidelined morality in pursuit of vengeance, and has a clear grasp of his characters' inner turmoil.

The story comes packed with hilarious segments no doubt but where it warms the heart most is the way these idiosyncratic folks, all broken in their own ways, come together to help a grieving family bond & become whole again. Mads Mikkelsen is reliable as always but the supporting cast is right up there with him throughout the journey. Everyone chips in with deftly measured inputs & leaves behind nothing to complain about.

Overall, Riders of Justice is humorous, poignant & refreshing in the zaniest of ways and is an action-comedy of heartfelt warmth & surprising intimacy. The chemistry & interplay between the geeks & muscle allows for wholesome entertainment and the finale is cathartic in ways that just fits. To sum it up, this Danish revenge-thriller is a roller-coaster ride that promises plenty of fun, is sincere in its emotions, and has its heart at the right place.