Duncan Vizla is a professional hitman who has made many tasks with the organization that he works for. One day, he decided to retire. Things turn upside down when his former boss makes him the responsible for the firm. He has to return to this awful field again and work with a group of younger killers.
Polar is pure trash, but the generousness - and, in the final stretch, the poignancy - with which Mikkelsen approaches even the most lurid of the film's conceits at least pushes it toward the top of the garbage heap.
Polar is an astonishingly flaccid film, a movie that prioritizes blood splatter and bouncing butts over literally all else, including plot and character development.
Polar benefits from Mikkelsen in the lead. He is just riveting and when he finally gears up for revenge the film steps into high gear and delivers grueling action and a surprise punch at the end.
Two-dimensional characters, questionable casting choices and a lacklustre script means that the two-hour runtime slogged from start to finish rather than feeling like an adrenaline-induced, blood-filled dream that it could have been.
Åkerlund actually shows each day's torture to really drive home the point. Too often Polar feels like being tied up and suffering through an immense cinematic experience.
