Mads Mikkelsen stars as the violent sociopath with a thirst for blood, helped along the way by his group of nerdy new friends.
I have recently become more aware of Danish cinema, more specifically the films of Anders Thomas Jensen and Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round is also on my review list). Jensen’s films comprise of this dry, witty humour, with a dark subtext to it, and Riders of Justice is cut from the same cloth. It is incredibly violent as well, and it’s that good violence with guns galore.
So, this comedy thriller stars Mads Mikkelsen – who is basically in every Danish film ever made – as Markus, a military man who must return home to look after his daughter Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) after his wife is killed in a train accident. When a survivor of the train crash, Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), turns up on Markus’s doorstep with evidence of foul play, it leads to Markus vengefully marching down a path of violence to gain justice for his wife’s premature death in the only way he knows works. The humour is quirky, dark, and very rude – sodomy jokes are a plenty – which is typical Danish wit from what I’ve been told.
The film has so many layers; it was stylish and peculiar, calamitous, and offbeat, the characters were likeable in differing ways. There is a superb contrast between Markus and the others as well; the macho man with very few words fused together with the nerdy, very talkative, and deeply troubled trio of computer experts. Mikkelsen is brilliant as always, no wonder he keeps being cast in high profile Danish films; he’s bang on the money every time. His broken character in this film reminded me slightly of his character in The Hunt, a troubled man on the edge.
I need to mention the cinematography by Kasper Tusken which stood out for multiple reasons. There were a variety of techniques which provided it with such flair; it consisted of gorgeous wide shots to signify the isolation and the loss the characters experienced, and in these shots were themes of symmetry, which not only looked fantastic, but they also highlighted the fact these characters are much more similar than first meets the eye. There were vast numbers of close ups throughout as well (Mikkelsen in particular), really showing that painful angst that spreads amongst most of the characters.
The opening scene involves an old man with his granddaughter in Tallinn, they arrive at a bike shop where the young girl longs for a blue bicycle for Christmas, the man in the store makes a phone call which is swiftly followed by another man in a white van pulling up to a Danish train station and stealing a bike. The bike belonged to Mathilde, who now must get a lift to school by her mother, they are both upset because Markus (Mikkelsen), must do another tour in Afghanistan, leading to the girls taking the day off instead. Meanwhile, Otto, and Lennart (Lars Brygmann) have been fired from their job after proposing a useless algorithm to their bosses that can predict events before they happen – something involving a club foot relating to car crashes. Otto later ends up being on the same train as Mathilde and her mother, offering up his seat to the latter, before a disastrous crash resulting in her death and many others happens.
After Markus returns home to look after his daughter; Otto, and Lennart both arrive at his house to discuss the idea that the “accident” was merely an elaborate cover up by a murderous biker gang (The Riders of Justice) who were targeting a former member who was on the train. With the idea now firmly planted in Markus’s head – due to a perfectly pitched statistical presentation – they enlist the help of fellow nerd, the fantastically named Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), and attempt to use computers, logic, and violence to track down the supposed killers. The three friends all have quirky personalities and argue with one another in a three stooges’ kind of way, particularly Lennart and Emmenthaler.
Markus uses all his military training to dispose of the members one by one, in typical vigilante style. I was surprised at how violent it was, even the supporting characters were awestruck with the graphicness. So, with the criminal clean up well on the way, the unlikely friends begin to bond – albeit with some frayed wires along the way – the scenes where they play happy family were very fun, it provided a light-hearted break away from the intense storyline. However, a dramatic and heart-breaking twist threatens to unravel everything, resulting in severe breakdowns and a fight for their lives.
Riders of Justice is a clever little film that relies on logic and statistics, and how they are supposedly full proof, which isn’t the case. There is also this idea of the domino effect, as something happens it results in a huge chain reaction of unforeseen events that even statistics cannot comprehend. Remember this when watching.
It is superb really; I was thoroughly impressed with how many layers and genres it had infused in it. It certainly makes me want to go back through Jensen’s complete collection and explore his full repertoire of famous dark wit. The action scenes were expertly done as well; brutal and cold, but the unique thing was how the violence played second fiddle to the story, the humour, and the exploration of character development, which happened with most of the characters. Brilliantly entertaining, but it’s limited release in the UK means it could be missed by many.
Riders of Justice is available to watch in select cinemas now. Definitely worth finding.
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