Arme Riddere

I was looking forward to Arme Riddere, told it was a crime story told in a Tarantino/Coen-stylish way. And it's good, though maybe not as funny as I thought it wood be. Still this is good entertainment, and well acted, and the story, based on a manuscript by Jo Nesbø, also has it's great outline. The filming technique is also well done.

Well, what happens? Terrified and bloody, Oscar Svendsen awakes clinched to a shotgun in a strippers joint. Around him 8 dead men, and police aiming at him. To Oscar it's clear that he is innocent. It all started when four chaps won 1,7 million on the pools...

The film starts off with meeting the main characters, Oscar and the detective, slowly starting to believe Oscars' story about him and his three criminal friends.

I goes wrong from the start. And is it really a good idea playing the pools which three inmates trying to get back in real life? Of course not. And from ten on the story gets bloody. Too bloody for Norways' biggest newspaper, which said it was impossible to review. It's not, and this statement is just silly. As most other Norwegian reviewers have stated later on.

This is hardly a comedy, though there are some good laughs tucked in the story. The story is sick and twisted, but not worse that it could actually have happened in that kind of wrong environment.

Arme Riddere is good fun, but lacks the quality of a classic. May this is because it's not drawing the line completely out. Tt's not really a crime story, not really a comedy, a.s.o. But if you're not afraid of some gore, I think you'll have a really good time watching this.

Other reviewers have outlined the story quite well so I'll keep this short. This film is very entertaining and very funny. Of course that depends on what you find funny. Almost all the humour is so called black comedy. Some people might find the comedic scenes distasteful but they made me laugh out loud and that's because, although gory, they are somewhat cartoonish. The script is tight and flows nicely although the film could have been 15 - 20 minutes longer. The ending feels a little rushed and is not as satisfying as it could have been. These are small quibbles and overall I would heartily recommend the film both for the thriller and comedic aspects.

A film that starts hilariously funny, with some fabulous lines between Kyrre Hellum and Henrik Mested( the picks of the cast) and though it quite never maintains that level, it sustains enough interest through the various bloody twists of its one hour 25 duration( this feels about the right running time).

I don't like gore but the gore is so cartoonish here it does not interfere with the fun. This film has everything.It has the basic convoluted crime story,unbelievably funny dialogue and great characterisation. There is nothing not to like in this film.

The bad guys are well drawn and never given the outlandish lines that Tarentino gives them, they remain human, stupidly criminal and never the mere 'apes' that the police hero sees.

I was a little thrown by the ending. I don't know how we were meant to judge the detective but of course it hardly matters.

This shames Hollywood once again, just like Headhunters did. If you don't find this hilarious the fault is with you.

The movie has a simple premise and you have to buy into that. If you do, you will enjoy a nice little thriller, that is quite explicit in some regards (concerning the violence). The original author became very popular (outside his own country that is) with "Headhunters" (intl. title) and this is another one of his stories done for the big screen. It works though it's not as good as the other one.

Not all twists and turns seem to make sense overall, but you won't mind if just watch it to be entertained. The structure of the movie is build with flashbacks and will be something you have to be able to endure. But the smallest joke that come within the situation help lighten the mood too.