5 out of 5

Director: Richard Holm

As many long-running series are apt to do, Johan Falk gets inspiration from looking back to where it began – in Noll Tolerans, and Johan’s scuffle with heavy Leo Gaut.  We get slight homage to the initial hostage sequence from that movie, as well as a return to the more hot-headed version of Johan we saw then.  But the reason this all works… is because it’s not just a hook to bring us back in.  These characters have been well-earned, six films on, and the roundabout of Falk’s persona has bubbled ‘neath the surface with every slight dismissal of authority of moment of ignorance regarding his oft put-upon girlfriend (wife?) Helen.  While on the surface this is a pretty typical action / copper movie – the baddies are running protection / drug hustles by extorting restaurant owners to employ criminals in their coatrooms, and GSI (Sweden’s police special operations branch) are on the task to shut them down – to followers of these films, this is an entry with big moves and payoffs.  As I’ve noted in almost all of these reviews, the Falk flicks are unique in their plain-faced approach to the genre, not using blinds or trickery to keep us in the seats but instead just telling a story competently, and making each character into a real person.  The same goes for ‘Leo,’ and becomes even more impressive when Gaut, now on the straight and narrow, running a couple restaurants, is unofficially recruited by GSI to help them with their operation.  In American cinema, we would play up the Leo / Johan nonsense for double-crosses and unnecessary profanity-slingin’, but even though series creator Anders Nilsson neither co-wrote or directed this entry (this is Holm’s second as director, Frederik T. Olson’s third as writer), the feeling is maintained – we get a dry, to the point conversation about Leo’s choices, about Johan’s feelings about the black-and-white nature of crooks, and it’s incredibly telling for both characters without being too subtle or saying too much, echoing Johan’s short but relevant relationship talk with Frank in the previous film.

Peter Andersson is amazing as Gaut.  In the first film he gets to go mostly for evil, but here he has to balance both his desire to be a family man and the need for revenge, and the slowly re-revealed darkness of his role is done incredibly well.  The same goes for his wife, Eva, played by Helén Söderqvist Henriksson, who knows she’s leashed herself to a troubled man but just can’t help it.

And we’re anchored by Eklund’s Johan, always slightly evasive, always slightly off-the-cuff, wavering on a line between getting a grasp on his inability to sit still and the need to just keep pushing against something.  Olson’s scripting of the part has been fleshing out a dickier side to Falk, and it’s been a tricky job of keeping him believable and likeable, but the team has pulled it off.  His scenes with Helen (again, in America, these would be milked for so much more nonsense filler) evolve naturally, and it’s good that they played it fair between the characters.  (Though we’ll see how that thread continues…)

Holm makes some editing choices with shots this time around; it’s a slight touch of ‘style’, not mismatched, but good to see someone trying to put their own spin on things.  Though a different dude steps in for the next movie.  But most enjoyably, we got a return of an actual score by Bengt Nilsson.  It’s a welcome return that helps, appropriately, to drum up some of the action sequences.  And typically, the last portion of the movie is thrilling, with a startlingly effective conclusion.