Writer: Jayson Rothwell (Screenplay) Victor Santos (Graphic Novel)
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Fei Ren, Ruby O Fee, Matt Lucas, Robertt Maillet
Plot: The world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers.
Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Bloody Filled Action
Story: Polar starts when Duncan Vizla (Mikkelsen) a deadly assassin, is reaching retirement age, at 50, he has saved his money and is embracing retirement, only with two weeks before he is due to retire, he gets an offer to complete a new assignment from Vivian (Winnick).
The boss Blut (Lucas) doesn’t want to let his former employees retire, as he is looking to eliminate them claiming back their retirement funds, he sends he best team to kill Duncan, with Hilde (Ren), Sindy (Fee), Karl (Maillet), Facundo (Grant) and Alexei (Cruddas) trying to put the old guard down.
Thoughts on Polar
Characters – Duncan Vizla is known as the deadliest assassin in his field, he is reaching the age of retirement in this field though, he has been putting his affairs in order ready for the next stage of his life. He must fight the next generation of assassins who are been sent to kill him, using all his knowledge he will take the head of anyone who gets in his way and protecting his neighbour too. Camille is the neighbour that has been through a traumatic experience which sees her being extra jumpy when it comes to loud noises, she befriends Duncan, only to find herself in the middle of the warring assassins. Blut is the owner of the assassin business, he assigns the jobs and decides that after 50 they are no longer required, he has financial gain from this decision and takes great pleasure in hurting people. Vivian is the connection between Blut and Duncan, she doesn’t want to be put in the position on crossing Duncan, only to find herself right there needing to finish the job off.
Performances – Mads Mikkelsen in the leading role is fantastic as we see him feeling like he doesn’t want to be part of the world, living in the shadows, remembering the jobs he has completed. You see all this in his feelings through his limit lines in the movie as the cold-hearted assassin. Vanessa Hudgens is the weakest of the main four, but mostly because of her characters limited involvement in the film. Matt Lucas surprises us here by being the psychopathic leader of the assassins that is over the top which is required through the film. Kathryn Winnick seems to enjoy playing the villainous leading lady filled with the seductive side to her actions. We try do see the rest of the assassins trying to make the most of their time, which is solid enough without being anything great.
Story – The story here is adapted from a graphic novel, so first we need to know everything will be over the top, which is important to prepare yourself for. When we look at the story, we get one that we have seen before, one that works, an aging assassin becoming the target by their employees who want to eliminate them from the world, leading them to take a stand, facing waves of assassins. As we said this is a formula that works and this is no different, it keeps everything simple, flashy version of it that oozes with its own style that will keep the action fans happy without turning to twist central.
Action/Crime – The action in this film is big, loud and bloody, we get plenty of moments that could see people looking away at the level of violence being shown here.
Settings – The settings of the film show where the assassins would be going from the world as they look to stay out of notice as well as showing us the flashy mansion the leader would be happy to live in.
Special Effects – The effects in the film show us just how violent the action can become as we see and feel a lot of the brutality we see in this film.
Scene of the Movie – One versus the room, hands up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The flashback scenes are annoying.
Final Thoughts – This is a bloody brutal action movie, that does feel like it has been ripped form the pages of the graphic novel and isn’t afraid to hold back.
Overall: Bloody and Brutal
Rating
