Exit (2006)

The same year (2006) he became internationally famous as the villain in the James Bond entry "Casino Royale", Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen starred in this relatively small-scale film, in which he is also involved in a torture scene with a man tied to a chair; the difference is that in "Exit" he is the man being tortured, while in "Casino Royale" he was the torturer. When it tries to be a financial thriller, "Exit" is dull. When it is satisfied with being an "innocent-man-on-the-run" thriller, it is clichéd but occasionally effective and tense (the scene with a car crashing onto a van is particularly well done). There is a last-minute twist that mostly just muddles things up, and should have been expanded upon. **1/2 out of 4.

Scandinavian crime thrillers is a known sign of quality, recent years have Danish films excelled Swedish ones, but in many of them, actors from both countries are used. Exit is also a fine example of that cooperation where Mads Mikkelsen - one of the most versatile contemporary Danish actors - was included. Again, he gives a great performance, nicely complemented by fine Swedes such as Alexander Skarsgård and Ulf Friberg, for example. Moreover, Mikkelsen is fluent in Swedish (rare among Danes), thus he is able to communicate in both Danish and decent Swedish throughout the film, emanating from the nature of his character.The plot is okay, even good, but includes some questionable scenes and unexplained events, thus the tag "mystery" is in the right place... Twists and chases, however, were catchy to follow, and the lack of some logic began to "haunt" when the credits appeared, not during watching. All in all, Exit is recommended to all those fond of Scandinavian crime films with pacing faster than average.

Exit starts of interesting with a dramatic happening at a company. This is kept as a secret for seven years. The film soon evolves into a fast paced thriller. As always is Mads Mikkelsen brilliant, here as a business man which find himself in a severe predicament.The film has an interesting premise, and we are immediately drawn into the story, which is well explained, even being difficult business stuff. I haven't been very impressed with Swedish films from the last decade, except for making cheap but decent and well played crime thrillers. This however surprises in a pleasant way. It's engaging, surprising and realistically told about dirty business. The film gives me associations to both the Millennium trilogy and the sublime Norwegian Headhunters.Surprisingly enough, as far as I can find, Peter Lindmark haven't directed a film since this one, which was made in 2006. How can it be he hasn't been called upon to do more directorial work for the last 7 years? I really think this is atrocious, as he deserves to do more work like this. There must be something seriously wrong with the Swedish film industry when this can happen.

I am not a big fan of Swedish films at all, but this one had Mads Mikkelsen in the leading role. He is the greatest danish star in many years (Bond 21, King Arthur)and just his presence should make you watch this movie.The common problem with Scandinavian films is the budget, which cant match Hollywood at all, so the story has to be great. This story takes place in the financial world, and Mads Mikkelsen plays a businessman which is head suspect in the murder of his mentor, because he can gain a lot of money on his death. He is in-prisoned, but then a mysterious voice calls and starts making demands, and are they not held his wife and child are going to be killed. So we follow his fight for the survival of his family and pursuit to clear his name.This might sound like an average movie, but the ends makes this a movie to seen and acknowledged. A great movie, great acting and a great story. Absoluttely worth a 1,5 hour!