Polar

Released: 2019
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Matt Lucas
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Distributed by: Netflix
Produced by: Constantin Film, Dark Horse Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA (UK – 18)

“If the Job doesn’t kill you, Retirement will.”

Duncan Vizla (Mads Mikkelsen; Rogue One, Doctor Strange) is having a very tough mid-life crisis. His job drags him across the world consistently, his boss is a real a-hole, his pension is being pulled, and now to top it all off his retreat to a snowy getaway cabin in the woods is being ruined. After meeting a woman named Camille (Vanessa Hudgens; High School Musical, Machete Kills), and forming a strange connection with her, assassins now are on his tail. Oh, did I mention Duncan is a deadly assassin?

Polar is the latest comic book to be scrounged from the bottom of the barrel to adapt to film. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund (Lords of Chaos, Spun) who may not be known in the U.S. but is widely acclaimed as THE music video director. His work includes videos with Rhianna and Kesha, but personally, I know him from his time spent directing videos from the German industrial-metal band Rammstein (no it isn’t Nazi music, it is very liberal and left-leaning). Each and every video is a masterwork in a narrative without a plot. Examples include Sonne, a retelling of snow white, Mein Land, a comical look at American culture from across the Atlantic, and Mein Herz Brennt, a short horror narrative that makes Marilyn Manson videos looks childish in comparison. So with all this great practice at small films fitted nicely into four or five-minute segments how has it translated to big screen outings?

In a nutshell, Polar is the tale of Duncan Vizla, an assassin known as the Black Kaiser, working for an agency run by a massive man-baby known as Bluth (Matt Lucas; Alice in Wonderland, Bridesmaids). All agents are required to retire at fifty with a nice pension of eight million dollars. Bluth isn’t too happy about Duncan achieving this and sends his best assassins after him. Duncan, in the meantime, is trying to settle into life without killing people every day and he is failing horribly at it. Even accidentally killing his new dog rusty (R.I.P. Rusty the french bulldog). Things escalate quickly as the flamboyant assassins close in on Duncan.

Visually this film is well shot. The action is pulse-pounding when it happens. The sets, backgrounds, and violence are filled with neon colors and great use of film filters. Many films with better directors and bigger budgets than this seem to get the use of these effects wrong. They absolutely soak the lens in whatever colour filter they have to give an empty sense of atmosphere. On the other hand, Polar uses this very well. Simply using the technique to suggest to the viewer that the scene has changed location from Russia coated in blue to Alabama coated in gold. The action/violence looks first-rate due to not being able to decipher if any effects are digital or practical and it achieves a great blend of both. Polar, like so many other comic-to-film adaptations, has over the top characters with over the top outfits. Which, for some unknown reason, are very pronounced here. I never really stopped to think how ridiculous Thor looked in Time Square, but I do see the assassins sticking out like colourful sore thumbs. They look like they are all moonlighting as some kind of 80’s revival band on the weekends.

The fights are stylish, over-the-top romps of action. Even when Duncan is in the bitter cold, wet snow wearing nothing but his birthday suit. The choreography and direction show Åkerlunds history of music videos. He builds beats and moments to a certain rhythm of pulp action and story. To say any of the fight scenes are bad is unwarranted, but some do dip in quality and tone. From the overt ridiculousness of the humourous, violent black comedy to Duncan genuinely fighting for his life. Mad’s acting does shine in these brief moments of Die Hard-esque white knuckle struggle.

The plot of Polar is paper thin at best. It contains some genuinely clever moments, but becomes lost when it is trying to build the momentum for a great fight scene. During the film, the action we see is always followed/preceded by a long drawn out scene of Duncan either alone and uncomfortable with his new life or interacting poorly with other characters. The pacing is so off that when our hero squares off against his nemesis, it never feels like the one-two punch it should be. Other more emotional beats don’t hit until after they have happened too, giving the film a jarring feeling of rushing to a point, only to get there and be totally anti-climatic.

I think maybe casting such a subtle actor as Mads Mikkelsen was a mistake. The introverted nature of the character is not such a silent actor’s strong point. Mads has perfected the art of playing a villain who does things slowly, leaving the audience to guess what he is up to until the big payoff, which is probably what he thought this film would be. The long meandering shots of Duncan’s nightmares, shopping list, or rectal exams get tiresome. Then we are suddenly building to what should be a full-blown, bloody fight a few frames later. What should be a great build up just makes Polar seem bipolar (see what I did there)

The other performances are pretty hit or miss. Although, the uncertain tone of the film could be the fault and not the actors perse. Vanessa Hudgens has some moments of real emotion only to be whisked off-screen. Hudgens and Mikkelsen work incredibly well against each other with great chemistry. The other stand out performance is Matt Lucas’s character who is an over the top sleazeball and Lucas hits every note of said sleazy-ness, making a very hateable villain.

The music is done by DeadMau5, and is almost completely forgettable. It suited the film at times but lacked any iconic recognizable beats. It does retain a moodiness that more functions rather than connects to the film. A film this stylish and with the director’s background, should, in theory, had a great composer behind it. Nowhere in its marketing do I remember Deadmau5 being plastered across the screen which could indicate that they weren’t entirely thrilled with what he had put together for the film.

Rating:

Thomas C:

Contrary to any criticism above, Polar does have some very good moments. If this lets Jonas Åkerlund grow as a director I am totally behind it. And, as much as I noticed any faults of the film, it is very watchable and enjoyable and any poor elements it contains could be fixed with a decent Director’s Cut. But, at its current state, it really isn’t recommendable.

Further Viewing: Sin City. Basin city has even pulpier and more over the top characters with two times the sex and violence that Polar has. If you dig Polar get the equally stylish Sin City!

Further Reading: Polar. Why not check out the source material?

Further Playing: Max Payne. High octane gunfights, slow-mo, engaging story, and edge-of-your-seat gameplay puts you in the shoes of the hardboiled hero with an unfortunate but fitting name.

Trailer: