Headhunters

Definitely the most entertaining movie I have seen this year. It was an edge-of-your-seat, roller coaster ride of a movie. Thrilling and funny in an OMG - I can't believe this is happening kind of way, I highly recommend this movie.

A captivating Scandinavian cat-and-mouse thriller that makes for a tight, incredibly entertaining ride. Director Morten Tyldum’s cinematic rendering offers palpable suspense, plenty of action, and a clever story line that’s hard to come by in the action-thriller genre. Tyldum succeeds by ignoring the particulars of common sense, darting full speed ahead, heaping on the twists with little regard for realism. Tyldum makes this tactic work for the film, constructing a series of imaginatively designed set pieces that are as tense as they are farcical. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, clearly made with an awareness of the silliness of it all, which strengthens the enjoyment of the viewing experience and overall resolution. Aksel Hennie, who stars as the protagonist Roger Brown, is the go-to person anyone would need as a job reference. The ambitious headhunter is one of the best in his industry with arrogance to spare. His opening monologue about reputation is so seductive it will have you hanging on to his every word. But Jo Nesbø's novel is more than meets the eye, and Mr. Brown has a separate occupation. With his contacts and hundreds of interviews set up with potential candidates for C-level jobs, opportunity comes in setting up the meetings, and then robbing them blind of valuable art, with counterfeits in their place. Roger readily admits he's overspending, with almost all expenses going into impressing his wife Diana (Synnøve Macody Lund), who is high maintenance, and out of his league. What seems to be just another mark with his latest job seeker, Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), backfires on Roger, as the film kicks into high gear. Roger suspects his wife is having an affair with Clas, a one time mercenary soldier who has found better fortune now as a CEO of a technology company, and who has a long lost painting stored in his Norwegian home. Jo Nesbø's story throws us a line, and hooks us line and sinker, into what turns out to be an extremely engaging, cat and mouse game of battle and wits between these two men. Director Morten Tylan does a masterful job keeping the suspense in high gear and cohesive narrative throughout. Tylan impressively infuses the films action-oriented moments with a visceral, white-knuckle feel that proves impossible to resist. The inclusion of a few astoundingly tense moments perpetuates the movie's shift into a seriously engrossing piece of cinema. Although the climax isn't quite up to the level of that which preceded it, “Headhunters” has already established itself as one of the most exciting, flat-out captivating thrillers to come around in quite some time.

An alright thriller with two truly great scenes. 1. Roger burying himself in all the fecal matter at the bottom of a porta potty, using the cardboard of the toilet paper roll as a breathing hole. 2. The twist of whether or not his wife was trying to kill him. In the garage when he finds the dead body of his security helper buddy in his car and then his wife comes out to check on him...damn what a situation for both of them to be in. It was fun and nerve-wracking watching both of them trying to guess what the other knows. Great stuff there, though the rest is just ok. Short man gets his hot wife and saves the day and all is forgotten and forgiven. Who knew that getting married meant your wife actually loves you? Who knew she meant it when she said she wants kids?

It takes forever to get going, honestly the first half hour even bored me. The cat and mouse narrative doesn't have much to absorb and the most entertaining part comes at the end when there's really no interest in the outcome. Now add to that the notable lack of a compelling character to root for, Headhunters comes across as a mediocre and weak thriller for something that could have made better use of its plot.

C’est un cravateux spécialisé dans le recrutement d’autres cravateux mais qui à ses heures perdues vole des tableaux pour arrondir ses fins de mois… oui, c’est déjà tiré par les cheveux mais bon… ce n’est rien à côté de ce qui suit et s’ensuit dans ce film qui devient assez vite un simple thriller à l’américaine qui n’a qu’un très vague rapport avec le début (et pourtant, ce film n’a rien d’américain à la base !). En effet, les invraisemblances se succèdent comme à la parade, de plus en plus aberrantes et… invraisemblables jusqu’au grotesque… Certes, l’action reste bien présente mais sans intérêt aucun puisqu’il arrive n’importe quoi dans ce « thriller » qui raconte que des conneries, puis tente de se justifier vers la fin par quelques pirouettes encore plus aberrantes que ridicules (et inversement). Néanmoins, la réalisation est très présentable et on peut se rincer l’oeil ici et là, vu que le film ne lésine pas sur quelques jambonneuses tout à fait haut de gamme, notamment une blonde immense et superbe (une vraie walkyrie !). Bien entendu, ça ne transforme pas cette daube en carrosse pour autant (c’est tellement n’importe quoi, à faire mourir de honte les pires hollywooderies en la matière !).