Polar (2019)

Polar is the kind of midnight-action fever dream that only works because Mads Mikkelsen makes it work—turning a near-mythic assassin into someone you can read in a glance, equal parts weary, lethal, and strangely human. Director Jonas Åkerlund leans into a slick, comic-book brutality, but there’s real pull in the film’s bruised little pockets of heart, especially in the unexpected chemistry between Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgens. The vibe is pulpy and vicious with a knowing grin, yet it keeps finding moments of poignancy amid the mayhem, like it wants to believe even a life built on violence can still reach for something better. Fair warning: it’s extremely graphic in sex, nudity, and gore—if you can’t stomach that, steer clear—but if you can, it’s a stylish, hard-hitting ride anchored by a star who never phones in a single frame.

Polar is trying to be a slick, comic-book-ish assassin thriller with a weary pro (Mads Mikkelsen) dragged back into the job, and on paper that’s a perfectly serviceable setup. The problem is it leans so hard into garish style, gratuitous sex and nudity, and nasty, prolonged brutality that the story and tone start to feel less “edgy” and more exhausting and juvenile. If you want tight plotting, grounded stakes, or characters you can actually invest in, this will likely feel like a lot of noise wrapped around a thin revenge outline. That said, Mikkelsen has real screen presence and a few action beats land, so if you’re specifically in the mood for over-the-top, ultra-violent pulp with zero restraint, you may get what you came for.