Underverden II (2023) - Flaws diminish Ahmad's action sequel

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Star Dar Salim's face, enshrouded in darkness and dark garbs and some few fiery sparks make up this poster for Fenar Ahmad's Underverden II

Zaid is in prison for the killings he carried out as revenge for his brother's gangland killing years ago, when he gets contacted by a desperate intelligence officer, who wants him to go undercover to clear out the new gangster leaders in Copenhagen.

 

Underverden II is written by Behrouz Bigdeli (Snooze (2008, short)) and co-writer/director Fenar Ahmad (Flow/Ækte Vare (2014)). It is the sequel to Ahmad's Darkland/Underverden (2017). The original Danish title translates to 'underworld II'.

The high action ambitions are properly established from the get-go, as a young man is executed outside the capital city's main court building. Birgitte Hjort Sørensen (Vinyl (2016, TV-series)) works well as the responsible intelligence officer, who soon seeks an alternative way to get the hoods through Zaid. His motivation is to sooner emerge to regained freedom and reconnect with his son. 

The plot works fairly well as an easy-to-follow action-thriller about a man taking on gang members, not unlike Charles Bronson's classic Death Wish formula. There's plenty of action and menace, but several of the action scenes come off as less than believable. Zaid has no problems temporarily kidnapping a gang leader from a heavily guarded gang headquarter and escaping the situation in the high-rise in one such dubious instance. Director Ahmad's abilities as an action salesman come up short. Machine gun salvos are liberally sprinkled over many scenes, although some audiences will also wince at this, which luckily isn't the norm in any Danish streets and thus feels fairly unrealistic

The labored script keeps up the first film's universe dichotomy of Zaid's resourceful family (now a pregnant ex with the soccer-playing son and a constantly blameful, nagging attitude towards Zaid) against the harsh ghetto life of ruthless crime for other kids and ethnic minority adults that Zaid has to right. It is also conspicuous how Zaid is practically the only character in the film that's been allowed to show feelings in Underverden II: SPOILER The tough gangster leader shows no emotions when his brother is killed (on Zaid's 'watch'), nor does Zaid's son show emotions after their car gets riddled with bullets. - Both instances may feel involuntarily comic for those who stop to think. The gangster boss doesn't become more frightening for not having emotions, but he does get less credible and the film loses more credibility value. Dar Salim (Springfloden (2016-18)) carries the film well mostly SPOILER but fails to get across credibly in a late scene, where he begs for his life.

New-comer Ahmad Ayman is good as the teenage gangster that Zaid becomes a father figure for, and whom Zaid wants to leave that arena, and their dynamic and scenes are among the film's best. Though far less successful than the first film in terms of quality, there is a high chance we are going to see #3 in a few years. Hopefully with a fresh spin.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown (projected 4.42 mil. $)

Box office: 2.45 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say (currently ranks a huge flop)

[Underverden II was released 13 April (Denmark) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark, including in Copenhagen. Its budget has not been announced yet, but it is likely at least 30 mil. DKK, approximately 4.42 mil. $. The film was been #1 in Danish cinemas its first 2 weekends and sold 138k tickets to date, coming to approximately 2.45 mil. $ so far. It is so far not set to be released in other markets. Ahmad does not have his next film announced yet. Salim returned in The Covenant (2023). 257 IMDb users have given Underverden II a 7.1/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Underverden II?

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea/Muldvarpen - Undercover i Nordkorea (2020, documentary miniseries) - Brügger facilitates brave, incredible sting operation

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The duplicity of being a mole is thematized on this poster for Mads Brügger's The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

An ex-chef contacts Danish documentarian Mads Brügger following his exposé of the crazy North-Korean regime in his The Red Chapel/Det Røde Kapel (2009, documentary miniseries) with a proposal to infiltrate the Danish-North Korean friendship organization. This over the course of several years evolves into a high-risk mole operation.

 

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea is written and directed by Mads Brügger (Danes for Bush (2004, documentary miniseries)).

It may contain the most sensational reveal of any of Brügger's works to date, as the Danish mole Ulrich Larsen introduces a Danish billionaire, - actually a former foreign legionnaire and cocaine drug dealer, - to the Spanish head of the international Korean Friendship Organization, Alejandro Cao de Benós, who soon facilitates meeting between the three and North-Korean military leaders, offering missiles, weapons and drugs. The sting comes to focus on creating a factory for producing weapons and methamphetamine on an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, which local officials are willing to strip of its inhabitants to appease the foreign criminals.

What the reveal actually reveals is being debated: It was already known that North Korea sold weapons to other evildoers such as Iran (and the film also mentions Syria as a purchase nation from the Communist autocrasy.) It is shocking that the regime is apparently so open to sell heavy war weaponry and drug factories to anyone who shows up claiming to have deep pockets. - The acting, big-mouthed billionaire is only known as Mr. James and is never forced to prove his wealth to the gullible North-Koreans. Some have ascertained that the film shows that the UN sanctions against North Korea works, as no country would act like this unless they were desperate for foreign finance. Others have interjected that such desperation and willingness to sell dangerous material is troubling and highly dangerous.

The fascinating part of the documentary, which is structured as a 3-part miniseries in Denmark and as a 2-part miniseries in English, is especially the incredible mission that the regular guy Ulrich undertakes, ostensibly out of a disdain for Communist dictatorships and a willingness to take risks and gamble with his own safety. Regrettably we get little insight into Ulrich: Though the film deals in intelligence, we are left in the dark as to what debilitating illness has landed the seemingly healthy man an early retirement, which is a shame. Even less gets revealed about Mr. James' real identity, but of course the two men's faces and actions tell a lot in themselves. Their undercover work is impressive and incredible. One also twists in discomfort and incredulity at the gatherings of Western friends of the North-Korean evil that Ulrich the mole infiltrates.

Unfortunately the film is structured poorly. A former MI5-agent, Annie Machon, is hired to debrief the mole for the camera, but their scenes are extremely staged and unnatural. Machon could have worked as an expert giving testimony to the camera next to the action, whereas a great, big-shot journalist like Lesley Stahl would instead have been ideal to interview Ulrich and Mr. James (and secure publicity for the film in North America). Brügger refuses to back out of the story as the actively storytelling documentarian that he sees himself as, and in The Mole: Undercover in North Korea it hinders the affair as a whole. Apart from Machon (and some female performers during the film's North Korea visit), the only other woman character is Ulrich's wife, who is brought up a few times only so we can be told that she is kept in the dark. In the end she is also brought in for another unnatural 'scene', in which Ulrich informs her of his undercover mission, and she blames him for inattention without in any way recognizing even the existence of North Korea, an ending that it is a mystery why Brügger thinks we need, mostly probably because we don't get closer to Ulrich during the ordeal than we do.

Still The Mole: Undercover in North Korea is an incredible derring-do and another reveal of a bizarre country that obviously needs to be ended sooner rather than later for the good of everyone.

Watch a news segment about the documentary here

 

Cost: Reported 1.9 mil. €, approximately 2.24 mil. $

Box office: None (TV release)

= Uncertain

[The Mole: Undercover in North Korea was released in on TV and the internet 10 October (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the UK). Shooting took place in London, UK, Copenhagen, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden, Brussels, Belgium, Pyongyang, North Korea, Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona, Germany, Oslo, Norway, Dublin, Ireland, Kampala, Uganda, Amman, Jordan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Beijing, China and Washington DC, lasting upwards of 10 years. Around 500,000 people saw the miniseries initially at its Danish release. The documentary and additional intelligence from its making are being studied at the UN Sanctions Committee. Brügger does not have his next project announced yet. 1,050 IMDb users have given The Mole: Undercover in North Korea a 8.8/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Mole: Undercover in North Korea?

The Fast and the Furious (2001) - Cohen & Co.'s corny teen dream franchise opener

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This poster for Rob Cohen's The Fast and the Furious prominently, wisely, unimaginatively features its hot young stars over a racing car

The Fast and the Furious is the first film in the Fast and Furious franchise, which to date comprises 7 movies in total, with more on the way. It has loaned its titled from the 1955 AIP movie, but nothing else. It is based on the Vibe article Racer X by Ken Li, written by Gary Scott Thompson (Split Second (1992)), David Ayer (Sabotage (2014)) and Eric Bergquist and directed by Rob Cohen (xXx (2002)).

Brian is a new racer in the exciting LA racing scene, who tries to get closer to the group surrounding the respected Dominic Toretto, whose sister he falls for. And while the group gets into trouble with some Chinese goons, Brian's secret becomes pressing...

The film has a story that moves forward with development for especially the two main characters, which is satisfying, and it is also cast well: Paul Walker (Takers (2010)), Vin Diesel (Babylon A.D. (2008)), Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar (2009)) and Jordana Brewster (Annapolis (2006)) are all game, fresh, sexy faces (and bodies...) who became stars on the back of this wildly successful ride. Rick Yune (The Fence (2001)) plays the Chinese hoodlum.

The concept is simple: Every dialog scene is written with bountiful sexual undertones, and the actors send each other raunchy looks again and again, which luckily don't all respect the overall heterosexual identity of the film. This makes it more exciting to watch. It is in many respects like a porn movie, only with the sex replaced by racing and other action scenes.
The film is aimed squarely at a very young teen audience, so the characters pretty much act like 13-15 year-olds, which is distracting and hard to believe for anyone above the target audience. This makes The Fast and the Furious even more corny than it needed to be, and hard to really fall for for someone like me.
Still it is an admirable vehicle, (excuse the pun): The action works, (although the continuity in the NOS-driving scenes are a little off), and the chemistry and pace is right. No wonder this seriously lit the lucrative youth demographic's underpants on fire.

Related review:

Fast & Furious franchise: Fast & Furious 5/Fast Five/Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist (2011) - Dwayne Johnson refuels the world's probably most ridiculous franchise

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 38 mil. $
Box office: 207.2 mil. $
= Big hit
[The Fast and the Furious was released June 22 and runs 106 minutes. Filming took place mainly on locations in LA and other parts of Southern California from July - October 2000. Both Rodriguez and Brewster had to learn how to drive to be in the film. The film opened #1 to a dreamy 40 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it was beaten off the place in its second week by A.I. Artificial Intelligence and grossed 144.5 mil. $ (69.7 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 9.2 mil. $ (4.4 %) and Germany with 7.6 mil. $ (3.7 %). The Fast and the Furious is rotten at 53 % with a 5.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Fast and the Furious?

21 Jump Street (2012) - Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill dish out some loud buddy cop fun

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The stars of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's 21 Jump Street look misplaced at a high school prom on this poster for the flick

QUICK REVIEW:

The nerd and the popular jock from the same high school meets some years hence in the police academy and later again as rookie cops, as they are sent on an undercover mission to search out the drug source that is supplying a high school.

On the corpse of the original, more or less straight-faced, youth-eschewed cop series (21 Jump Street (1987-91)), here gets erected a self-conscious, energetic raunch comedy with two enthusiastic stars and lots of fun comedians and actors in supporting parts: Talents like Rob Riggle (The Hangover (2009)), Ice Cube (Ride Along (2014)) and Dave Franco (Unfinished Business (2015)), who not only is a real dish, - he can act, too!
The film features prominent amounts of music and yelling, which can be a little intense, but if you're in the mood for it, 21 Jump Street is definitely a successful adaptation, (which I figure is the best word to describe its link to the original show.) It's festive, silly, wild, has a liberal view on drugs, (which won't fall in everyone's favor), plus a car chase with three limos(!). The funniest gag: SPOILER When big car accidents don't result in huge explosions, twice.
21 Jump Street is written by Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)), with star Jonah Hill (The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005), actor) contributing some story, and directed by Phil Lord and Christoper Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), both).

Related review:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller: The Lego Movie (2014) - Glue and near-robotic square-mindedness gets a kick in the head in the year's surprise family favorite
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) - Hefty-paced fun in 3D food lunacy 

Watch the red band trailer for the film here

Cost: 42 mil. $
Box office: 201.6 mil. $
= Big hit
[21 Jump Street took most people by surprise, because it mostly didn't inspire great expectations and turned out to be pretty funny. It opened #1 in North America with a 35 mil. $ first weekend, kicking The Lorax (2012) out of the spot after two weeks there. It grossed 138.4 mil. $ in North America (69 % of the total gross), and a sequel, 22 Jump Street, also by Lord and Miller, was released in 2014. The third film, 23 Jump Street, is now in development.]

What do you think of 21 Jump Street?

Donnie Brasco (1997) - Newell's fantastic, authentic gangster tale

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+ Best Big Hit Movie of the Year + Best Gangster Movie of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year + Best Period Movie of the Year

An aesthetically pleasant poster for Mike Newell's Donnie Brasco

QUICK REVIEW:

Old-timer gangster Lefty Ruggiero trains and develops a friendship with the jewel thief Donnie Brasco. What he doesn't know is that Brasco's real name is Joseph Pistone, and that he works for the FBI in bringing the New York mob to their knees.

Donnie Brasco, adapted from the real life figure Pistone's autobiography (Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia (1988)) by Paul Attanasio (The Sum of All Fears (2002)) and directed by British director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)) is quite simply an excellent gangster movie.
It is an exciting story, well edited (by Jon Gregory (Mr. Turner (2014)) and carved out to elicit a neat, old-fashioned kind of suspense thorughout.  
Al Pacino (Heat (1995)), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs (1992)) and Johnny Depp (Dead Man (1995)), - who is kept from his tendency of overacting, - are great, and Anne Heche (Volcano (1997)) is also good as Depp's frail, sidelined wife.
For audiences far away from Manhattan and the time period depicted, Donnie Brasco stands as a wonderful dream of the dirty 70s in New York City.

 

Related post:

 

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch the great trailer for the film here

Cost: 35 mil. $
Box office: 124.9 mil. $
= Big hit
[Donnie Brasco earned splendid reviews and an Oscar-nomination for Attanasio for Best Adapted Screenplay, (he lost to Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson's great L.A. Confidential (1997)). Brasco earned 41.9 mil. $ in the US (34 % of the total gross), and a particularly strong reception in the UK, where it grossed 4 mil. £.]

What do you think of Donnie Brasco?