I saw Polar...

I dig Mads Mikkelsen. Think the world of him in "Casino Royale", "The Salvation"; "Doctor Strange", "Rogue One", "The Hunt"; "Hannibal" (the series, that is)--you name it. The man is versatile, distinguished, humble and when it comes to getting down and dirty, frickin unparalleled. 

I suppose that makes him the ideal fit for Netflix's explosive, action submission, "Polar", based on the Dark Horse graphic epic by Victor Santos and Jim Gibbons.

For the movie adaptation, Jason Rothwell supplies the script, with Jonas Akerlund as its frame-whipping director. What bursts forth is as dark as noir can be, with a gutsy, irreverent ambiance to rival Frank Miller's "Sin City", Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner's "Red" and various Guy Ritchie flicks. 

Duncan Vizla, "the Black Kaiser", is the story's cool anti-protagonist: an assassin of expected, pinnacle lethal skill, but behind his rough exterior, a nice, stoic guy...more or less. Mikkelsen covers the conflicting extremes with deft command, sporting an eye patch that gives him a touch of Nick Fury, Snake Plissken and Captain Harlock, matched by the virtuous prowess of John Wick.

To boot, Vizla is a fifty-year-old bloke, who's paid his assassin dues, at least per his agency views, though now forced into "retirement": sorta like the Carousel deal in "Logan's Run", though not quite as symbolic. On Vizla's heels are spry recruits, but our suave veteran isn't afraid to beat 'em to the punch in what becomes a wild, laser-fanning, bullet-zinging, dog-eat-dog free-for-all. In other words, as much as they polarize him, he out-polarizes them, with a focused cunning that'll make one's head spin. 

Prompting Vizla's trouble is the mad, Sting-haired Mr. Blut, played by Matt "Doctor Who" Lucas. When he's not around to stir the pot, there's assassin-group leader Robert "Monster Brawl" Malliet's Karl to instill the chill for all you WWE fans. Let's face it: Any hero is only as good as his adversaries, and these sonsaguns (and really, the film's henchman collective is pretty damn daunting) define Vizla to the maddening tee and would hold their own with any DC, Marvel or James Bond baddie. To rephrase: They're easy to hate, and because of it, appreciate. 

To heighten the film's glitz, gorgeous gals populate, with Vanessa "Powerless" Hudgens as Camille (striking even when we're suppose to believe she's unassuming); Kathryn "Vikings" Winnick as crafty liaison Vivian (a sassy femme fatale if ever there was one, so much so that she shoulda earned a bigger part); Ruby O. Fee as Sindy; Inga Cadranel as Regina; Fei Ren as Hilde; and Anatasia Marinina as Evalina (among bewitching others), each capping the overflow of violence with cunning sweetness and (to irritate those feminists who should so choose to watch), the shameless need to tease and please their men. 

I had a great time with one...would have loved to have seen it on the big screen. Still, I gotta give credit where it's due. Netflix was on the ball this time, and perhaps to capitalize on the film's inevitable fanfare, we'll get a sequel based on one of Santos' many other Black Kaiser stories. If that's not to be, then at least some other rough-edged entertainment for Mikkelsen to lead. (I suppose, the upcoming "Arctic" will fill that bill, but for the here and now, it's not a "Netflix Presents...".) 

Anyway, fingers crossed that the pay-to-view-it execs don't go down the sappy Gillette road. We damn well need more movies with balls firmly attached. 

Monster Team-up Reflection #13: Monster Brawl

When watching Jesse Cook's "Monster Brawl", I couldn't help but think of Stephen Apostolof/Ed Wood's "Orgy of the Dead". If  you're an exploitation film fan, you'll surely remember that one: a young couple ends up in a cemetery where Criswell and his Vampira-like companion (accompanied by a mummy and werewolf) force near-naked women to perform long, sultry dances, as an implied means of tongue-in-cheek punishment.

"Monster Brawl" structurally reflects the same basic simplicity, but with the emphasis on monster wrestling matches, much along the lines of MTV's claymation, "Celebrity Death Match".

Two fetching, scantily clad women (in the "Orgy" vein, though a trifle more attired) join Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart to assist a Cosell-styled announcer (Dave Foley) and a former pro-wrestler (Art Hindle) to relay the grisly details, sprinkled by mystical interjections from Lance Henriksen's commanding, disembodied voice. The proceedings are apparently televised, though without an immediate audience present for safety reasons, since the monsters might prove too dangerous if they were to leap into the seats: a compassionate nod by a self-proclaimed geek (Jason Deline), who in an interview with Jimmy Hart, also explains how he ingeniously organized the fantastic event.

Unfortunately, there's not much logic to how the monsters are teamed, particularly in weight class. For example, it seems most unlikely that the seemingly frail Witch Bitch (the otherwise alluring wrestler, Courtney Rush,) would be anything but a feather-weight and yet she's pitted against a considerably larger, male opponent, Cyclops (Jason David Brown), despite ample encouragement from her promoter "troll" (Chris Rutte) that she can easily win.

In addition to Cyclops and Witch Bitch, we're treated to the Mummy (RJ Skinner) against Lady Vampire (Kelly Couture); the Werewolf (again Skinner) against Swamp Gut (again Brown); Frankenstein's Monster (Robert Maillet: WWE's Kurrgan), joined by his paternal mad scientist, Dr. Igoria (Ari Millen) against Zombie Man (Rico Montana), managed by the towering Colonel Crookshanks (legendary Kevin Nash). Ultimately, Frankenstein and Werewolf go at it, in what develops into the most energetically vicious "Frank Meets Wolf" melee ever filmed.

Indeed, "Monster Brawl" isn't heavy on plot, but unlike similar endeavors, this one doesn't drag, mostly because the narrative actually spurs the momentum, despite the lack of crowd cheering or musical intros.

To further seal our interest, we're offered background interludes on the opponents, some playing in the standard style (Frankenstein, Werewolf and Lady Vamp), with Swamp Gut's story a cross between the "Boggy Creek" legend and Man-thing/Swamp Thing mythology. Zombie Man stems exclusively from George Romero/John Russo lore and is even exported from Pittsburgh for the fight. Cyclops, on the other hand, is perhaps the most intriguing, if not baffling entity, with a "cursed" twist characterizing his genesis, while Witch Bitch initially comes across as sympathetic due to the persecution she faces from town folk. In the end, though, Frankenstein victoriously steals the show, perhaps due to his imposing stature and quirky, nuanced gestures.

Have fun with this one. It's really not supposed to inspire much else, but like the old Apostolof/Wood concoction, it more than delivers the appropriate, exploitative slam!