Mads Mikkelsen's Best-Reviewed Action Movie Is One You May Never Have Heard Of

If you're not familiar with writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen's filmography, which consists of such beloved black comedies as "Adam's Apples," "The Green Butchers," and "Flickering Lights," you should know that the Danish filmmaker has never made a feature without Mads Mikkelsen. He's part of a small group of versatile and prestigious Danish actors that Jensen has been working with as a director for over two and a half decades now. Although Mikkelsen has become a global star mostly due to his roles in American movies – like the acclaimed Western "The Salvation" – and TV shows, he frequently returns to his roots in Danish cinema (most recently in another criminally underrated Jensen flick, "The Last Viking"), where he inarguably shines the brightest.

Released in 2020, "Riders of Justice" — Mikkelsen's best-reviewed action flick — is Jensen's fifth film as an auteur and also his most action-packed dark comedy by a mile. But make no mistake, despite having more guns, shootouts, and copious explicit violence than in any other collaborations between the two, "Riders of Justice" is no sellout — it's just another masterful example of how potent Nordic cinema can be. The movie currently boasts an impressive 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% Popcornmeter score based on viewer ratings.

The plot follows Markus (Mikkelsen), a taciturn and highly skilled soldier, who returns from Afghanistan to look after his teen daughter, Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg), after her mother was killed in a devastating train accident. However, he is soon approached by a meek man named Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), who tells him that his wife's death was no accident but a deliberate attack by the vicious local motorcycle gang, Riders of Justice. He's got evidence and — as the passenger of the same train – his firsthand experience to prove it. Before long, Markus teams up with Otto and two of his friends to deliver retribution, whatever it takes.

It's difficult to describe why Anders Thomas Jensen's movies hit so hard to someone who hasn't seen any of them, since they're so incredibly unique. "Riders of Justice" might be the most accessible of all — given its pace and high-concept plot are perhaps a little more audience-friendly — but that being said, it's another quintessentially Jensen-esque entry — I may be biased, but he's never made a bad or even mediocre film. It's filled with diaphragm-shattering deadpan humor delivered by an ensemble of eccentric weirdoes who are as odd as they are likable. That's practically a given in every Jensen movie (usually employing many of the same actors in various roles), but what's a welcome addition here is the director's keen ability to conduct energetic and brutal action sequences with a firm and capable hand.

Under the surface of absurd scenarios and bonkers premises, there's always a raw violence bubbling in Jensen's work (before erupting into a blood-splattering chaos) as well as deep-seated and profound themes about morality, vulnerability, and the tragedy of the human condition. In "Riders of Justice," every oddball has their own individual trauma, but the movie focuses the most on dissecting Markus's ferocious anger and the soaring grief that endlessly fuels it. He's incapable of controlling his feelings or channelling them in healthy ways other than the one he knows well: brute force. 

But what's truly beautiful about Jensen's screenplay here is the subtle way he nudges his protagonist (and everyone surrounding him, really) toward healing through other people. The bond that unexpectedly develops between these weirdoes as they fight for a common goal is touching yet never sentimental, simply human. And that's the best quality you can walk away with after seeing a Jensen movie — especially one as fast-paced, witty, and entertaining as "Riders of Justice."