SummaryThe world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla (Mads Mikkelsen), aka The Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.
Directed By:Jonas Åkerlund
Written By:Jayson Rothwell, Víctor Santos
Polar
Metascore
Overwhelming Dislike
19
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Overwhelming Dislike
17% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
17% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
67% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
Jan 24, 2019
65
Mads Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgens’ on-screen chemistry bring some much-needed heart to Polar’s bloodsoaked story.
Jan 28, 2019
50
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.
User score
Generally Favorable
59% Positive
149 Ratings
149 Ratings
20% Mixed
51 Ratings
51 Ratings
21% Negative
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
Mar 29, 2025
10
Loved it so much, I could go on about it for ages. I mean that cinematography??? So good. Colourisation, wardrobe, and background music were all artfully done. Duncan is a great main character and I love that he’s unashamedly morally grey but has depth in his characterisation. I know some people seem to dislike the amount of blood and sex but hey, I think they’re just wimps. The sex? Couldn’t care less for BUT at least it was Mads and seemed to serve the greater purpose of murder! I mean sure Duncan survives way more than he should but so what, it’s an action flick who cares. Only drawback was ultimately the lack of story between Duncan and the girl, they could have explored that more and her backstory wasn’t as well done.
Apr 10, 2023
10
A strong 10, who cares if it's like John Wick?? Who cares if the bad guy is the stereotypical fat and coward guy?? The "professional critics" are far from being objective. That's why the user review has better rate than the critics. I loved the movie, the plot, the final twist in it. Now I want a sequel. Mads Mikkelsen is, as always, flawless in his performance.
Jan 24, 2019
25
Every second grates and confuses in equal measure, with nary a thrill of inventive, exciting action filmmaking to break up the monotony.
Jan 25, 2019
12
A gross, stupid and relentlessly ugly film from start to finish, this may not be the absolute bottom of the barrel in terms of Netflix Originals but nothing else worthy of that title immediately springs to mind.
Jan 31, 2019
10
If Polar were a teenager, it might be content to chug Mountain Dew while playing first-person shooter games and trolling innocents online. Unfortunately, Polar is a movie, and if it has any redeeming qualities, it chooses to keep them a secret.
Jan 24, 2019
10
Gratuitous sex, gruesome torture, copious amounts of gore, and garish imagery populate the picture. Those qualities might be reason enough for some to watch, although a great many others would do well to scroll right past it on their Netflix feeds.
Jan 23, 2019
0
If only the issue with Polar, Åkerlund’s fifth feature film, was merely shallowness. Polar is an execrable motion picture, a sad, lint-filled key bump scraped together from the bottom of the post-Tarantino ’90s exploitation baggie.
Oct 19, 2022
10
Just my kind of movies. Dark, violent, with though ass main character. Easily best of Netflix production in years.
Feb 23, 2022
6
Very stylised action and two contrasting colour palette. Mads acting was great but tonely inconsistent.
Sep 18, 2022
3
"Polar" tries to be a flashier, funnier version of "John Wick". Emphasis on the word "tries". Despite its desperate attempts to be cool or humorous, I more often found myself laughing at the film rather than with it. A completely hollow experience that by its end only leaves you feeling sorry for Mads Mikkelsen.
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Best Performance: Mads Mikkelsen
Jul 21, 2021
3
Dans ce « polar », on a surtout bien des clichés comme celui du tueur d’élite désireux de prendre une retraite (bien méritée…) mais qui doit se heurter à l’insu de son plein gré à la drôle d’humeur de son employeur, lequel ne voit certainement pas d’un bon oeil la prime de départ… qu’il lui doit ! En vérité, rien de très sérieux là-dedans, sauf vers la fin via un rebondissement ou plutôt une révélation moisie de derrière les poubelles dont la grognasse insipide Vanessa Hudgens se fait la porte-parole… ridicule de bout en bout, d’ailleurs ! Par contre, on apprécie la belle Katheryn Winnick dans ce rôle secondaire de femme fatale d’une ironie cynique bien agréable. Elle seule et bien entendu l’excellent Mads Mikkelsen (comme d’habitude) tirent un brin leur épingle du jeu dans ce film qui se traîne un tantinet quand même. Un film qui peut faire sourire de temps en temps par ses excentricités et sa violence exagérée, lesquelles sont nettement inspirées des tarantinades et autres ritchieries volontiers provocatrices qui plaisent tant aux ados (idiots). Notons par ailleurs que l’on voit ici et là de la chair plus ou moins fraîche de bonnasses plus ou moins bonnes mais nous ne ferons pas la fine bouche à cet égard, car… c’est plutôt rare par les temps qui courent ! La réalisation est dans l’ensemble très moyenne, pour ne pas dire pire, la faute à un montage trop souvent cut dans l’action (sanglante certes) qui aurait mérité bien plus d’attention. Souvent débile, parfois drolatique (mais rarement) très brutal et un peu voyeur, « Polar » reste ce qu’il est, à savoir un gros nanar !
Production Company:
- Constantin Film
- Dark Horse Entertainment
- Netflix
Release Date:Jan 25, 2019
Duration:1 h 58 m
Rating:TV-MA
Tagline:If the Job doesn't kill you, Retirement will.
Awards
Leo Awards
• 1 Nomination
