I had a movie night recently with a buddy of mine who’s always keen to watch a foreign film, so I recommended we watch the Danish action comedy Riders of Justice, and I’m glad I did. Not only did my friend love it, but it also afforded me an opportunity to re-watch one of my favorite films of 2021 (it released in Denmark in late 2020). While it was often marketed as a revenge thriller, Riders of Justice is anything but a simple revenge tale. In actuality, it’s a highly nuanced and darkly comedic study of trauma, loss, mental illness, and friendship.

Mads Mikkelsen plays Markus Hansen, a Danish special forces soldier whose wife is killed in what appears to be a tragic train accident. I say “appears” because Otto Hoffmann (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), an expert on probability who was also on the train, believes that the “accident” was actually a hit on another passenger orchestrated by a criminal biker gang, the titular Riders of Justice. After recruiting his two best friends, computer experts Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), Otto decides to approach Markus and inform him of his suspicions. Energized with a new purpose, Markus and his three compatriots set out on a path of vengeance. Again, this sounds like a straight-up thriller, but it’s so much more than that.

First and foremost, Riders of Justice is a character study on mental health. As one would expect, Markus’ teenage daughter, Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg), is incredibly upset by her mother’s sudden passing. Being a career soldier and thusly a man of violence, Markus is thoroughly unprepared to deal with his daughter’s emotions. It’s quite ingenious that, in its first act, this movie chooses to dwell more on the trauma of loss than on the act of revenge. Observing Markus struggling to adapt to being a caring father is both frustrating and exciting, as you desperately want him to comfort his daughter, but his inability to do so tantalizingly hints at the boiling rage and soldierly inclination that’s bound to come into play sooner or later. Also, one can’t help but notice that Markus’ intensity and military discipline, traits that are normally presented as heroic in this kind of film, are likely indicative of some sort of mental health issue of his own. It’s compelling characterization.

Then there’s the trio of Otto, Lennart, and Emmenthaler, each of whom is initially presented as quirky more than anything else. Of the three, Otto is most normal, with Lennart and Emmenthaler being the bickering comedic reliefs. In many scenes, Lars Brygmann’s Lennart steals the show, with his loose cannon wit and eccentric observations causing more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. Emmenthaler is often equally funny, with his shyness and OCD-like behavior representing the stark opposite of Lennart. All three of these characters, and the actors that play them, are multi-dimensional and likable. Yet, while they all have their moments of humor and quirk, there’s clearly an underlying sadness and trauma in each of them that slowly reveals itself during the film’s 116-minute runtime.

That being said, Riders of Justice never forgets that action and revenge are often what gets people through the door, so to speak. It doesn’t take too long before the three sidekicks draw up a target package for Markus so that he can begin his quest of vengeance. Highly trained and in his element, he doesn’t hesitate to end lives in quick, brutal fashion. The violence is filmed and framed with confidence, properly balancing exhilarating gunfights with mildly off-putting bloodshed. Action buffs will have few complaints, other than maybe that the villains are pretty underdrawn. I do wish the film featured some more villainy, if only because I’m a big fan of Roland Møller, who plays the leader of the bikers.

So yes, the violence is all very entertaining and cathartic, but it didn’t take long until I began to feel a bit uneasy about Markus’ ruthlessness. There’s something about his eyes, facial expressions, and overall behavior that indicates this path of violence might not be the healthiest for him. Mads Mikkelsen’s performance is borderline perfect, seamlessly blending simmering masculinity with suppressed vulnerability. When juxtaposed with the supporting cast and their characters, you really begin to appreciate what he and the filmmakers are trying to achieve: the complete subversion of revenge film tropes.* (See notes for mild spoiler-y elaboration)

If Riders of Justice makes any errors along the way, it’s probably in its approach to humor. Lennart and Emmenthaler are undoubtedly a hoot, but when I learned more about their past, I kind of felt guilty for laughing at them. Thinking about it, I wouldn’t be shocked if some viewers think that a few of the jokes make light of mental health issues, or feel that they’re at the expense of mentally ill individuals. If I wasn’t so certain that this wasn’t the filmmaker’s intent, I might think that way too. As it is, I do still think some of the gags were mean-spirited, but I also recognize that people do behave this way in real life. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but so is the real world. Writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen seems to understand that well, and I expect he also understands that this approach makes his film slightly less palatable at times.

Before I get too long in the tooth, I’m going to wrap up this review here. I hope that I was able to establish that Riders of Justice is more than its trailer implies. At its most superficial level, it’s a revenge thriller blended with an action comedy. If that’s all you want, this film still gives you that in large enough doses that you should walk away pleased. However, if you’re someone who’s always looking for something deeper, something that speaks to the human condition, then this is your movie. That is, if you can stomach some of its crassness.**

If I had to score it, I’d give Riders of Justice a 9/10.

Notes:

* You see, in most Western films, Markus would be a traditional action hero, killing and taking names without consequence. But in Riders of Justice, with mentally ill characters at every turn, Markus’ violent impulses can be seen more clearly as what they really are: his way of coping with his own mental demons. In essence, this movie argues against its own premise or genre by exposing this very fact. Sure, I’ve seen other revenge movies make the argument that revenge itself is pointless, but never in this way and never so poignantly. Add Otto’s probability calculations to this story, and you’ve got one hell of a thought-provoking cocktail to contemplate long after the credits roll. And if that’s of no interest to you, well, then there’s still a lot of action and comedy in there to keep things enjoyable.

** Since I couldn’t find a spot to mention this, I wanted to briefly acknowledge actor Gustav Lindh and his first-rate performance as Bodashka. Bodashka could’ve easily been a throw-away character, but Lindh’s warmth made him very memorable and added so much to this movie. Bravo.