Director Jonas Akerlund (“Spun,” “Small Apartments,” “Lords of Chaos”), takes a walk on the wild side with his new gory action movie “Polar” starring Mads Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgens. This gun blazing, balls to the wall film, now available on Netflix, is based on the Darkhorse graphic novel “Polar: Came From The Cold” by Viktor Santos.
‘Polar’: Jonas Akerlund’s ‘John Wick’-Like Action Film Starring Mads Mikkelsen [Review]
In “Polar,” Duncan Vizla (Mads Mikkelsen) is an aging former assassin going through a midlife crisis. He’s isolated himself in a mountain cabin as he tries to find a sense of calm and make new friends. He meets his new neighbor Camille (Vanessa Hudgens) and the two form a friendship with underlying consequences.
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Labeled a company liability, his former employer wants him dead. Now he’s on the run with a small army of younger, faster, ruthless killers in tow, and Camille caught in the middle. Armed with an arsenal of deadly skills to outsmart enemies, Duncan Vizla has no choice but to return to the dangerous lifestyle to restore what’s left of his tortured soul.
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It’s easy to see why many compare “Polar” to the “John Wick” franchise. On the surface, the world of “Polar” is all about sex, money, violence, and betrayal that lies within the dark on the world of political assassins. However, where the two films diverge is that at the core, Duncan Visla is a man seeking redemption for his past transgressions, and John Wick is out for revenge.
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We sat down with Jonas Akerlund and Mads Mikkelsen to discuss the world of “Polar” and why they aim to tell a story with intense realism juxtaposed with comic books elements.