The Last Viking

You may think you know Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen from his roles as Bond villain Le Chiffre or TV’s Hannibal the sophisticated cannibal. But he has also starred in a string of outrageously peculiar ensemble comedies opposite Nikolaj Lie Kaas, 52.

This latest film featuring the duo starts as a caper movie about a bank robber, Anker (Kaas), who leaves the loot with his traumatized younger brother Manfred (Mikkelsen) right before being incarcerated.

Freed years later, Anker tries to recover the cash stash Manfred buried, but first he has to unlock the key to his little brother’s trauma — and recover his own memories.

A series of hilarious misadventures and slapstick comedy sequences ensue, but they’re steeped in conflicted fraternal emotions, questions of identity and the iffy concept of normalcy.

It’s a journey down a resonant rabbit hole with Mikkelsen, hilariously permed, fearlessly silly, emotionally complex and endlessly endearing.

Comedy, Crime, Drama
Denmark, Sweden (Danish, Swedish) 1h 56m (116 min)