topeconhilo

I saw this due to my love of the original Danish trilogy and was quite excited to see what would be done with this remake. Unfortunately though, the answer is not much. The film has been made with a worse cast, worse direction and what even looks like less of a budget (although I'm sure that's not the case). The bland styling of the film, set in unnaturally lit night clubs in "London", somehow make Copenhagen in 1996, seem far more relatable than the modern day England portrayed here.

Obviously, the film's strength is the still solid script, which remains, for the most part intact and there are some strong scenes towards the end of the film, but it fails in recapturing the emotion or energy of the first. The dynamic of Frank's relationships with both Tony and Flo are poorly executed this time round, with neither dilemma being quite as believable as before, which ultimately confuses who you're intended to be routing for.

Finally, the ending of the movie, intended to be open ended (as in the original), is poorly directed and edited here, which causes it to cross the line into the "frustrating" category. Refn's original didn't hold your hand either, but with the way the original is edited and interplayed, with flashes of the foes after Frank running through his mind, it at least pointed you towards a conclusion in your own brain. This ending, like the film, leaves you a little cold.