Riders of Justice

The consequences of coincidence permeate this quirky revenge drama, which could be described as a Danish mash-up of Death Wish, the Rambo films and Revenge of the Nerds, but is a more thoughtful experience by far. Another Round star Mads Mikkelsen is suitably stoic as Markus, a career soldier whose rigid resolve is rocked by a shocking accident that leaves him a widower with a teenage daughter to raise. The arrival of statistician Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and eccentric hackers Lennart and Emmenthaler, who claim the tragedy was down to a violent biker gang, then sends Markus into a vengeful spin. Writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen (Men & Chicken) isn't interested in wall-to-wall bloodletting, though there are inevitable moments of brutal action. The oddball relationship forged between the misfit geeks and Mikkelsen's dour destroyer is the focus here, as broken men haunted by trauma and guilt team up for retribution in their own chaotic fashion. Jensen's terrific combination of wry gallows humour, droll but nuanced performances - especially Lars Brygmann as twitchy, off-kilter Lennart - and soul-searching drama delivers a Danish delight.