The Marco Effect

I don't agree that the recasting of Nikolai Lie Kaas by Ulrich Thomsen was a misstep. His performance gave detective Carl Mørck a little more deliberate character, which fits the subject quite well. The stumbling block lies more in the rather bland scenario. However, I have no serious reservations about the directing and I quite like the music. (60%) (22/10/2022)

Ulrich Thomsen is undoubtedly a good actor, but Nikolaj Lie Kaas gave the role of Carl more distinct character traits, which are crucial for the film’s sense of drive. And the “new Asad” is an absolutely bland sidekick, so the buddy chemistry between them, which is so important for this detective series, is pretty much gone. An even bigger problem, however, is the execution, even if we view the film independently of the previous instalments. The Marco Effect is blandly and statically directed, the dialogue-heavy plot lacks dynamism, and the action scenes (if we can even call them that at all) seem like something out of a mediocre Czech TV series (most notably in the chase scene at the construction site). The motif of the Czech Roma as the grey area of the story will be controversial in our country, but even if we set aside the local connections, it is embarrassing. Unfortunately, if something doesn’t change significantly with the next instalment, this interesting franchise ended with the preceding Journal 64. (06/08/2021)

The new Q isn't getting swept up. For at least a fifth of the runtime, Marco is on the train, observing nighttime Denmark, running through the streets from an aggressive garbage collector, or just gloomily staring, with little connection to the rest. It might not even matter that the criminal plot is banal and its ending, where the new Asad plays at being Martin Riggs and is soon pursued by the ombudsman, doesn’t make much sense. The real problem is that Martin Zandvliet turned it into a static television short that sticks to the soles like Carlo's nicotine gum at times. (14/12/2021)