In Order of Disappearance

A film that has a great setting and, in the end, quite interesting characters, who clash in a slightly bizarre gang war that culminates in the final scene. There are interesting visual elements used here (such as black windows for farewell), which give the film a touch of originality. Acting-wise, the film does not disappoint. (27/04/2017)

This is so much better than the remake for the American audience! Skarsgård is determined and natural, the casting and stylisation of the villains are wonderful, the dialogue about European multiculturalism is spot on, with Scandinavian black-humor and the absurdity of escalating the situation into a slaughter over a single incident like something out of a Sam Peckinpah movie. I fully and delightfully enjoyed everything here that didn’t work for me in the remake to the point that I completely missed the creative intent in the effort to give the it a strange distinctiveness. (31/10/2020)

A masterful combination of black humour, drama and action. Nils, a normal guy, turns the tables after the murder of his son and becomes a killer, played by Stellan Skarsgård. The stylized characters lighten the plot, yet the script doesn't lose its power and tension. Philip Øgaard, the cinematographer of the film, does an excellent job, and combined with the Norwegian snowy landscape, it's an awesome spectacle. This star-studded Norwegian blockbuster is a must-see for everyone! (21/01/2023)

I don't know what went wrong. There's Stellan Skarsgard (who first decides to shoot himself in order to subsequently shoot half the Norwegian mafia), Bruno Ganz as an Albanian mafia boss, and as a bonus, a simple and straightforward story in an appealing and unadorned setting that promises not only an avalanche of corpses, but also a torrent of effective black humour. And though Skarsgard is flawless, the setting is used perfectly and the cinematographer is extremely good with it, the simplicity of the plot reaches such an overwhelming level that the script would have to be littered from top to bottom with jokes or references to famous gangster films to be forgiven as a successful parody. But that’s not the case because, except for a few moments when the corners of my mouth quivered slightly and one that actually made me laugh, the humour is desperately absent, and many plot "twists" that could be tolerated in a comedy seem downright distracting and silly here. For me a wasted potential; a film this formally interesting and with such brilliant performances should have turned out much better. 60% (11/06/2015)

You won’t believe me how much I was looking forward to this film. I even noticed how contradictory the reviews on this website are and I was thinking that I won’t believe it until I watch it myself. So, as soon as Stellan Skarsgard arrived on the scene, a fairly straightforward gangster movie started. His son is killed so he takes revenge. He goes to the first gangster. He beats the information out of him and moves to another. This is how it goes during the whole film. There are sometimes better moments, of course, but overall I was rather falling asleep and this should not be happening in my opinion. Unfortunately, the second The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared didn’t happen. Seen based on the Challenge Tour 2015. (03/05/2015)