I recently managed to watched The Last Viking when it got its UK release, so I thought I’d tally up what I’ve seen from this talented guy so far. And there’s still a lot of Mads’ work I haven’t seen so far, so this post will inevitably be updated at some point too.
Mads has just got one of those. Like an actor’s face. A face that can do a lot without talking. Which might have something to do with why a certain film of his gets a really high position in my ranking. But anyway. We’ll get onto that soon enough. Here we go.
Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny
The worst of the lot that I’ve seen so far. In Mads’ defence, the whole film’s a bit of a train wreck, but his villain’s just got a weak backstory, and there’s nothing compelling about him to get to grips with. Meh.
Doctor Strange
Similar problems to the above. The narrative just didn’t engage me. It felt like another lame entry into an increasingly dull Marvel canon, and it’s just a bit wimpy. I appreciate Mads’ eye shadow though. And it’s worth mentioning that it’s a tough gig going up against another compelling actor like Tilda Swinton. There’s too much rizz between those two, and not enough character development with the screenplay. Or anything, really. Sure, there are worse Marvel films out there, but this didn’t work, and Mads couldn’t do much to save it.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Even though you don’t really get to see Mads much here, he still makes a decent impression as conflicted father Galen Erso, forced to develop a project he has no desire to complete and abandon his daughter in the process.
At Eternity’s Gate
Similar vibes to the above, in that is character’s not on screen for long, but still makes an impact with that expressive face of his. Nice.
Hannibal
Having watched all three seasons, I’m still not sure how I feel about this one, but I can’t deny that Mads puts in a stellar performance as the series’ titular antagonist. The aesthetics are super stylised, and there’s a lot of focus on food. Some food which, uh, might not be of the vegetarian kind, let’s just say. And it’s generally just super theatrical. Sure, it diverts from the OG source material a fair bit in places (I’m pretty certain that, as someone who’s read Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs back- to-back, that there’s nothing goin’ on between Hannibal and Will Graham, but hey, you can heavily imply that in this adaption if you want to). But yeah, Mads is super suave and charming in this interpretation of Hannibal, I can’t deny that.
Pusher
One of the earliest things that Mads has done, and it also happens to be the directorial debut of Nicolas Winding Refn, whose film ‘Drive’ remains one of my all-time faves. And you can get a sense of Refn’s fascination with crime in this feature, where Mads stars as a small time hyperactive gangster who needs to calm down a bit. It’s fun seeing Mads slightly play against type compared to all the future roles that he’d go on to star in. I need to watch the sequel to this and Refn’s other collab with him, ‘Bleeder’, but hey, that’s something I’ll get round to in the future.
Casino Royale
Probably the flick that made Mads’ name in the Hollywood sphere. Mads does a lot without saying too much here, and that’s always a compelling acting choice, particularly when you’re playing a bad guy. Enigmatic, evil and theatrical, this is Mads on top form.
The Hunt
Mads is in another starring role here, albeit a lot more parred down. This one made a big impression on me and brought back a lot of anger from Atonement, because, you know, peeps ‘be lying. In a different way from Atonement, sure, but it still made me angry. And it’s usually a sign of a good film if it can get you riled up in that way. But not if said film is objectively awful, like, uh, Mamma Mia (that’s a different issue that I won’t get into on this post, but…anyway)
Valhalla Rising
This is the big winner for me. I know VR wouldn’t make it anywhere near this position in most other’s rankings, but hey, this is my ranking. Mads’ dedication to silence in this one is compelling. A smooth, minimal 90 minutes, and his character doesn’t utter a darn word. Where is this set? What time period? I dunno, it doesn’t get into specifics. At all. This wouldn’t be most people’s idea of fun, but like I said, this is my ranking, so I’m calling the shots. With minimal speech from the surrounding characters, you’re left to use imagery and sound as your expositional guides, and this makes a heck of a difference. None of that expositional talking, lads. Just a nice journey into hell with an enigmatic main character who doesn’t say a single thing. You’re welcome.