Les Enquêtes du département V : promesse

Department Q is one of my favourite series and it has been almost 11 years since The Keeper of Lost Causes was released. Hanging Girl / Boundless is the sixth movie adaptation of Jussi Olsen Adele's books. I need to be honest I loved the first four adaptations with Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares. The fifth adaptation was with a different cast and Ulrich Thomsen and Zaki Youssef became the main cast. For me the fifth movie (Marco Effect) was good with Thomsen and Youssef. However, I cannot say the same for Hanging Girl / Boundless. The cast changed again Thomsen is with Afshin Firouzi and I can tell you that he doesn't fit into the role of Detective Assad. Nevertheless, Ulrich Thomsen is a great actor and you like watching him as Detective Carl Mørck and that was the only reason why I was able to finish this episode. The ending was easily guessable and there are plot holes. The acting is fine but there are unlogical scenes in particular at the ending. In short, I can tell you that this is weakest episode among all 6 Department Q movies. Still give it a try if you love the series. I give 6 out of 10 points.

Once again, the lead actors in the movie have been replaced with some new ones. Rose has become more hardcore and less charming. Not sure if it's part of wokeism.

The movie contains a completely irrelevant scene where a janitor harasses Rose and she practically rips his balls off. The scene has nothing to do with anything.

This movie is the worst in the Department Q series. I miss more twists and surprises, and I miss more investigative work in the film. If this is the standard for the upcoming Department Q films, then I won't be looking forward to the next ones in the series.

"Fasandræberne" is still the best Department Q film.

Although the overall production was actually pretty good, both myself and my co-watcher found the storyline full of mistakes, omissions and elements completely irrelevant to the overall result.

We spent a good hour after watching the movie explaining to each other how many holes we saw, and why, and they were all completely valid. After the talk we all agree that the director must really not have cared about tying this story together in a good way.

We were left with a feeling that we would rather forget that we spent money on this.

You might want to watch it just to end the series. But this was just not the way to end it.

Let's face it...Department Q died when they changed the cast after the fourth movie. This latest movie just doesn't change that fact. I am very disappointed! The plot is thin and the excitement and humor is absent. I was not entertained and I have no idea where Carl Moerch is in the story. It's more about Rose than about Carl. Assad is a weak sidekick.

To me it looks like a low budget film. But first of all the biggest problem is the cast. Apparently the producers know this since they changed the cast for both Rose and Assad since the last movie.

Bring back Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Fares Fares og Johannes Louise Schmidt. They are in another league.

Unless there's anyway we can eject author, Jussi Adler-Olsen (from further involvement), and reinstate Zentropa, and, more specifically, Nikolaj Arcel, to Department: Q's cinematic universe again... then this'll probably be my last one.

Adler-Olsen is churlish and triflin; like Stephen King when he didn't agree with Kubrick's interpretation of The Shining (1980).

Afshin Firouzi is an improvement over their last Assad -- even if he's little more than an exposition-absorbing sidekick here; But now it's as if Ulrich Thomsen has realized these new D:Q installments won't live up to their predecessors, because whatever progress Thomsen initially demonstrated in 2021's Marco has faded and is just lackin now.

Really, Rose (Sofie Torp) is the principle sidekick here, since she's allotted the most screen time/dialogue (after Thomsen). She performs ably, but her arc is pedantic and at times antithetical (to her character development).

There are at least two characters whose development is marooned to the film's first half.

Most unfortunate is the story: the premise is intriguing and ultimate-reveal is equally appealing, but the execution is hopelessly rote (they're plainly trying to pantomime Fincher with only Joel Schumacher swagger). The first four films easily demonstrate some of the best procedural facets (of the sub-genre), while still facilitating convincing cold case thesis or agreeable whodunit subplots, but the author has gone out of his way to wipe the slate and insist on cinematic universe-dover (with these last six properties). Unfortunate, these later entries aren't worth your time (and hopefully won't be here for long).

• - - - - -

It's only appropriate Netflix is distributing Adler-Olsen's US adaptation, because these (Marco Effect, and now, Boundless) definitely aren't worthy theatrical exhibition (unlike his first four films, e.g. Under Arcel's pen and Zentropa's oversight).