Riders of Justice (2020)

Riders of Justice (2020)

 

7/10

 Starring

Mads Mikkelsen

Nikolaj Lie Kaas

Andrea Heick Gadeberg

Lars Brygma

 

Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen

 

Here’s a Danish movie everyone should see. Yes, it’s in Danish, and you’ll need subtitles, but it’s worth every minute.

A good revenge movie is always fun to watch. Add the twist of a revenge story going wrong due to a misunderstanding, and you’ve got a masterclass in filmmaking.

Mads Mikkelsen plays Markus, a soldier who was on duty when tragedy struck his family. His tour is cut short so he can return home to care for his daughter, but he’s so emotionally damaged that he almost destroys her in the process. The movie masterfully blends dark comedy with thrilling drama, making the heavy themes easier to digest.

The story begins with a mother and daughter waiting at a train station to meet their husband and father, who’s away on duty for another three months. Meanwhile, we’re introduced to Otto, a man obsessed with algorithms. As the narrative unfolds, you start wondering how these characters’ lives will intersect.

The connection happens on a train. Otto offers his seat to the mother, showing a moment of kindness just before tragedy strikes—the train derails in an accident. The mother dies, leaving her daughter, Mathilde, alone. This incident also kills a key witness needed to convict the leader of a gang called the Riders of Justice.

Otto, who loves crunching numbers, notices suspicious details: a man leaving the train just before it departs and throwing away a meal he barely touched. Otto suspects the train crash was no accident but a calculated move to eliminate the witness. To support his theory, he runs facial recognition software and discovers the man who left the train is the brother of the Riders of Justice leader.

Otto and his friends track down Markus to share their theory (though their reason for involving him isn’t particularly strong). Otto remembers Mathilde and uses her to connect with Markus. Once Markus hears the theory, he insists on being updated when they locate the suspect.

When they do, Markus drives to the location with Otto and his two friends and kills the man. This act sets off a chain reaction. The Riders of Justice leader learns someone has killed his brother, and now he’s out for revenge. At the same time, Markus is determined to continue his own revenge against those he believes are responsible for his wife’s death.

This is a fantastic film, one that’s definitely worth seeing if you have not seen it.