User reviews

In the beginning when I first saw "Innan frosten" I was very against these movies. Thought they would be to freaky for me because I get easily scared watching horror movies. But I got surprised and found myself like these movies. I think this movie was the most exciting movie of the ones that had been maid. You're so in the movie and you get so frustrated on the police because they don't know who the murderer is but you do. But in the beginning you don't have a clue about what has happened and what the connection are until they reveal it in the movie. It's psychological and you think the murderer is such a freak. You don't like him and that the police doesn't get a clue either. He is totally playing with their minds and that makes this movie so good and different comparing to the others. My legs couldn't stop shaking in the cinema. You follow the movie with excitement and you just want to catch the murderer. If you have to see one of the Wallander movies, watch this.

I rate this high because the script builds some real suspense. As is the case with most of these, the villain is a really bad guy--psychotic to the nth degree. There seems to be an orchestrated effort to push Wallander to the edge. A series of event are directed at the daughters of cops. We are made aware that Kurt is under surveillance by some evil entity. Things are moved around in his apartment. He is called to crimes which prove to be falsehoods or distractions. His own people begin to doubt his stability. Linda is out to prove something, to outdo others, and she gets quite reckless. Another young woman is kidnapped, her bedroom splashed with blood. The key has to do with a connection among all of these. The downside is one that is recognized by other reviewers. The sloppy, careless, haphazard work of the police. In so many episodes, a little care and common sense would have prevented a great deal of anguish. Yes, there would have been less suspense, but with the right effort, this still could have been accomplished. Once is continually saying, "Are you serious?"

Thank God that I've seen this episode, otherwise I would spend all my life in ignorance, not knowing that Yugoslavian language was spoken in Yugoslavia and that we were overflown with Lothars, Paulinas and Kraftzcyks :D OK, it's just a TV show, it's not a lesson in general knowledge, but I'm sick and tired of all those mistakes considering former Yugoslav countries and now favorite villains - Serbs most of the time, and some Croat now and then. Please, before centering an episode or a whole movie around character from former Yugoslav countries, just google a bit. There were few "Paulina" (extremely rare name here, it's Polish in fact) but only Lothar was Matthaus while he was coaching our football team, and none of the Kraftzcyks (if this surname exists at all, even in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia)

I've watched all of the Wallander movies available now, and this one was by far the most well done movie. It's the second Wallander movie based on Henning Mankell to be shown in the theaters, and I first I found 'Innan Frosten' to be the best movie (1st one in theaters) but this 'Mastermind' was so exciting and well done, it didn't really feel like watching a Swedish movie, it was a bit more exotic. I'm not going to go in on the movie synopsis too much, but this one takes a few twists that were very welcome, to break that predictable chain we usually see in Swedish action/cop movies. I can recommend it to anyone who wants a good movie to watch on a Friday night, 9/10.

One of the best of the Swedish Wallander series. This was a really creepy episode, with lots of surprises. A scene near the ending reminded me a little of 'Silence of the Lambs' but otherwise if was original, and much more like a horror film than some of the others in the series. The basic premise of the plot - revenge - is a very common one for Henning Mankell, but it's the characterisation and acting that are both so strong. I thought Martinnson really came alive as a character in this, with convincing vulnerability. It is so sad that the actress who plays Linda Wallander came to such a tragic ending - she gives a superb performance in this. And Krister Henrikson's Wallander is starting to become the definitive one for me - even over Kenneth Branagh.

I don't think I have seen such good Swedish action movie sense Livvakterna med Samuel Fröler. This movie has it all, action and intelligence.. Swedish people is not spoiled with good police movies. And Mikael Nykvist in a Wallander movie was a surprise. The Walander before Krister Henriksson with Rolf Lassgård was great and I was a little bit worried with Krister Henrisson in the roll as Kurt Walander. But he surprised me in Mastermind. Some of his other Walander movies was not as good as this Masterind. Now its time to look at the next Wallander in the series. But Mastermind I recommend. So go and buy this great movie (Roger)

The production quality of this movie is delightfully good to come from the Nordic countries, but the plot.. oh the plot! It is just not believable at all.

If you don't mind guessing all the time what happens and grinding your teeth because you think "even the Swedish police are not that stupid" this movie is good for you. If you don't mind repeated, very-convenient-for-the-bad-guy twists of fate, this movie is good for you. Your call.

Acting on the other hand was good, I guess - I didn't pay attention to it, and isn't that at least one sign of good acting?

When I watched this movie, I was not only shocked at how ridiculous it was. I was even more shocked that it sacrificed all the believability that usually makes these Swedish versions of the Wallander films so impressive, one of the best series of police procedurals I've ever seen (and I've seen too many to want to discuss it).

After the fact, I learned that this episode had been released first as a movie in theaters, and then things started to make more sense. The overblown absurd dramatics, plus what seemed a bigger budget for effects, look clearly like part of a misguided attempt to sell the series to a larger audience.

The movie is trying to have the visual impact of something like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and doesn't succeed.

The first film in this series, Before the Frost, was also released in theaters, and thankfully is much much better than Mastermind. And at least knowing that Mastermind was trying to be something other than a usual episode in this series helps me understand why it goes so wrong--and helps me be glad that other episodes in the series did not try to repeat the errors made here.

(r#83)

Banal. Pointless. Pretentious. Not even so bad it's good. Boring. Overlong. Dragging. Stupid. Best of the Wallander series? Who cares? It's not even bad enough to warrant a funny review. I hope this movie dies and burns in hell.

The characters are all 1-dimensional morons. The acting is awful. The actors look like they're reading of cue cards. No one with a brain could enjoy this movie. No one! The movie's shot in a filter that makes every scene dark and ugly. What, they couldn't afford lamps...?

It's a shame that my hometown should get famous through an awful movie such as this one. Avoid at all costs.