Not in the same league as the first one, but not too bad
The good news is that this 1966 sequel to "Slå først Frede!" ("Strike First, Freddy!", 1965) is an inoffensive and occasionally funny spy spoof.
The bad news is that it's a letdown after the first film: the funny bits are relatively few and far between, the bad guys are less entertaining, the plot is not as clever and character development is lacking. The pace is very VERY slow by 21st century standards, but that's to be expected in a 1960s adventure/spy movie. There is a fair amount of James Bond-esque eye candy and even a little bit of tastefully done nudity. There is also a lot of talk about sex, which was still a big deal in 1966. Overall it barely rises to the PG-13 level, mostly due to one scene where the characters are smoking something suspicious.
According to "Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema", the two Frede films and "Martha" (1967) were Erik Balling's and Henning Bahs's early joint efforts which eventually led to the famous "Olsen-banden" ("The Olsen Gang") series. I guess we can chalk up some of the shortcomings to "growing pains".
The actors do the best they can given these constraints and the results are generally watchable if you can accept that things are going to be slow. 5-6/10 overall.
The bad news is that it's a letdown after the first film: the funny bits are relatively few and far between, the bad guys are less entertaining, the plot is not as clever and character development is lacking. The pace is very VERY slow by 21st century standards, but that's to be expected in a 1960s adventure/spy movie. There is a fair amount of James Bond-esque eye candy and even a little bit of tastefully done nudity. There is also a lot of talk about sex, which was still a big deal in 1966. Overall it barely rises to the PG-13 level, mostly due to one scene where the characters are smoking something suspicious.
According to "Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema", the two Frede films and "Martha" (1967) were Erik Balling's and Henning Bahs's early joint efforts which eventually led to the famous "Olsen-banden" ("The Olsen Gang") series. I guess we can chalk up some of the shortcomings to "growing pains".
The actors do the best they can given these constraints and the results are generally watchable if you can accept that things are going to be slow. 5-6/10 overall.
- alexm-2
- May 6, 2014