Released: 2019
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Run Time: 118 Minutes
Not Rated
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Action/Crime
Cast:
Mads Mikkelson: Duncan Vizla
Vanessa Hudgens: Camille
Kathryn Winnick: Vivian
Fei Ren: Hilde
Ruby O. Fee: Sindy
Matt Lucas: Blut
Have you ever seen a movie and completely forget that you ever saw it almost immediately afterwards? I’ve seen quite a few of those, but I can’t remember their names. Maybe its because a particular genre has been over-saturated with movies that are so similar it’s hard to tell the difference between them. It happens quite a bit in specific genres like horror, action, and science fiction. I think part of the problem is that a lot of genre films have a tendency to follow a specific pattern. It’s safe and it doesn’t require a whole lot of effort, and for certain films, that’s okay. Originality can be quite difficult in an industry that doesn’t seem to care for originality anymore. Sticking to certain tropes and ideas can be a good thing if it’s done well. Apparently, director Jonas Åkerlund didn’t get the memo when he directed Polar.
Polar follows an aging assassin blah, blah, blah, wanting to retire when the organization that he works for betrays him, yadda, yadda, yadda. While all of this is going on, he forms a connection to a lonely girl that may or may not figure into his past. When said girl gets kidnapped, Mr. Aging Assassin pulls out all of his tricks to find her and destroy the organization that he used to work for. If that setup sounds familiar, it should. It’s the basis for pretty much nearly every revenge-type thriller that’s come out in the past decade. The only exception that this particular story has is that it’s boring and fairly mean-spirited. From what I understand, Polar is based on a graphic novel written by Victor Santos and published by Dark Horse Comics. I haven’t read any of it, but from what I’ve seen from this movie, it is the opposite of what the comics were trying to go for. This particularly story isn’t well-written. In fact, it feels like a generic thriller at times that borrows liberally from better films in the genre. It’s boring. We’ve seen it all before, and we’ve seen it done a hell of a lot better than this. Don’t get me started on that ending, though. Whatever good will this film was trying to muster up was completely shot in the head with that disastrous ending. I haven’t been THAT insulted be an ending in years.
Let’s get some of the positives out of the way. For one, Mads Mikkelson is freakin’ awesome here. Then again, he’s pretty much awesome in nearly everything that he does. He’s a fantastic actor. He truly does inhabit the character of an assassin that’s wanting to retire. While I can’t say that the chemistry between his character and Vanessa Hudgens’ Camille is anything substantial, he at least attempts to carry it the best he can. His character is probably the most compelling out of all the characters in this film. That’s not to say that the acting is bad. Some are gloriously over-the-top, specifically Matt Lucas’ Blut. He’s clearly having a lot of fun with the character and it shows, even though the character is about as threatening as a wet paper bag. The gang of assassins trying to hunt down Duncan are at the very least, different, if not remarkable. Vanessa Hudgens’ character though, is probably the weakest part of the film. She’s not given a whole lot more than being clumsy and quiet. There’s a lot of talent here, but they aren’t given a whole lot to do with. There’s even a cameo by Richard Dreyfuss that seems oddly out of place. A movie should not necessarily be held up by the strengths of one actor alone, and even Mads Mikkelson can’t really save this one.
The tone of this film is all over the place. Look at how the color schemes in the film change at a breakneck pace. At one moment, it’s bleak and grey while at other times its colorful and vibrant. What kind of movie is this? You need to pick a tone and stick with it. That also brings us to the action and the violence. Considering the movies that I love watching, I’m probably the last person on the planet to discuss the mean-spirited nature of the violence in this movie. I’m not opposed to ultra-violence in my movies. Quentin Tarantino does it all the time, but he does it in such a way that it seems like it’s done tongue-in-cheek. It’s really over-the-top. Here, there really is no such finesse. At one point towards the beginning of the film, Duncan buys a dog only for him to inadvertently blow it away as a result of a PTSD flash-back. Is that supposed to be funny? Because I’m not laughing and fuck this movie for doing that. There was no reason for that to happen. That’s just being mean for the sake of being mean. At least, in John Wick, when the dog died, there was a reason for the character’s rampage. The dog was the last connection that Wick had to his dead wife, so it became personal. Here, it’s pointless and cruel. That’s not to say that the violence is entirely out of place in certain parts of the film. Seeing Duncan tear through assassins and henchmen is pretty glorious and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. The torture scene was completely unnecessary and feels out-of-place in a film where the tone is schizophrenic. Again, it comes across as unnecessarily mean and it actually detracts from the film. Don’t get me wrong: As I said, I enjoy a great deal of ultra-violence in movies, but there has to be a purpose for it. The story needs to drive the action, not the other way around, and that’s one of the biggest failings of Polar. It’s driven by its violence, not its story.
At the end of the day, Polar is just another in a long list of utterly generic action thrillers that relies far too much on its over-the-top violence and sexuality to be worth of anything substantial. It’s also boring. It takes forever for the film to get going. When the action hits, it hits hard and fast, and that’s where the movie biggest strength and weakness is. No blame can be laid at the feet of the film’s actors, especially Mikkelson. He’s absolutely phenomenal. The problem lies with Jonas Åkerlund and his attempt to make his movie like Quentin Tarantino meets John Wick. It fails at both and it fails to be a compelling thriller with anything memorable. Honestly, I would skip it. Mads Mikkelson has better movies out there, and there are an infinitely number of better thrillers than Polar.
My Final Recommendation: Take this one out to the snow and bury it. 4/10.