| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] |
| Index | 15 reviews in total |
27 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
The Swedish James Bond, 6 May 2012
![]()
Author:
Robert Ronin from Switzerland
Very nice movie from Sweden. I had a quick look at the critics written before this one and must say: Sweden was not famous for Action Movies but this will change if they shoot more like Hamilton. Very nice Cinematography and good casting. I don't see the point in complaining about the plot, the plot is similar to a James Bond or Bourne Story and it works just fine for me. And it did also work for the Swedish audience with about 360'000 admissions two weeks after its opening in Sweden. Looks like they have just waited for this one. If I got it right, then this is the first film out in the trilogy based on the novels by Jan Guillou. So there is a lot to look forward for me. I like it a lot to see when more Swedish productions are aiming at an international audience. We have had this with the Millennium trilogy as well.
24 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Looks good but the acting and plot makes it only average, 6 February 2012
![]()
Author:
Jona1988 from Finland
I have not read any of Jan Guillou's Hamilton novels. I have thought
about it but as of yet haven't gotten round to it. But from what I've
heard about this movie it is very loosely based on the books. Most of
the Hamilton books were written from the middle of the 1980s to the
middle of 1990s. One could compare it to the movie Casino Royale in the
way that it has been modernised to the post 9/11 world. So what I mean
is this movie is completely self standing, you won't have to read the
books or see any of the previous Hamilton movies.
So what did I think of this movie? The short answer: it is no more than
an average action flick.
The look of the movie is outstanding for a Swedish one. I don't mean
that in a bad way but it visually has taken a big step towards
international standards. Sweden makes good movies but the action ones
hasn't been their strongest. The technical aspects of this movie are
just so impressive. Both the execution of the action scenes and the
overall look of the film makes me think of the Bourne movies. And yes
there is some shaky cam in the action. Still it's not a problem, it
works fine most of the time helping to create this brutal feel that the
movie has. And talking of brutal that is something the movie really is.
A lot of graphic killing scenes and the characters take down guys with
little hesitation. Is it unnecessary much? No I don't think so but
don't expect the lean back action blockbuster type of film. Music fits
well for the tone of the film but nothing memorable.
Those were the strong parts of Hamilton - I nationens intresse. Now on
to the weak ones. The by far biggest weakness in it is the complete
lack of a interesting story. It is something about private military
companies and false flag operations. But half ways in to it one has
pretty much lost track of what is really going on but it doesn't matter
because the action is the only really entertainment you will find here.
When I after the movie were talking to other about what story really
was one realises that it is just the usual conspiracy stuff that you
neither want nor need to follow. The only part where I saw the tiny
glimmer of interest was Carl Hamilton as a character, so maybe I should
go and read the books. But all this falls completely on the acting, oh
the acting. It's a long time since I've seen performances as wooden as
these. I mean one knows how Mikael Persbrandt acts and it is no
difference here. He looks cool and has really trained his body up for
the part but he shows less emotion than the Terminator. But I must
partly blame the director here because it is not just him. The entire
cast are more stiff than statues. And there are many actors here that I
know can act, having seen them in many other movies. There is
absolutely no life beneath the good looking surface. Neither in the
story or the characters.
To sum up my short review of Hamilton - I nationens intresse. The
production is great, looks stylish and the action is among the best I
have seen in a Swedish film. But the dull plot and some of the worst
acting I have seen in a long time makes this fail almost entirely as a
whole.
32 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
Excellent action thriller - made in Sweden, 22 January 2012
![]()
Author:
Bjorn Hansen from Sweden
I saw this movie in the cinema yesterday , good movies should always
bee seen in the cinema.
It was good action from beginning to the end and the movie had an
interesting story.
It's a movie that makes you think , what if it's true ?
weapon industry wants to sell weapons and politicians and corporate
leaders play dirty
My impression from old Swedish thrillers are old men talking to much
and trying to look important , Hamilton is a big step up to real action
in class with Sylvester Stallone , Bruce Willis and many more
Mikael Persbrandt delivers and so also all the other good actors.
I look forward to the next Hamilton movie , good work
12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Well-made effort...., 16 May 2012
Author:
CurtHerzstark from Sweden
This is the latest installment in the Hamilton franchise, the first
feature film was made in 1989 (Täcknamn Coq Rouge)at that time Stellan
Skarsgård played Hamilton. Over the years there have been many TV/film
productions about Hamilton made specifically for a Swedish audience.
For people who are not familiar with the Hamilton series/franchise, its
basically the Swedish equivalent to James Bond or Jason Bourne.
Hamilton is a secret agent with a license to kill, has been trained by
the US Navy Seals and undergone training at the Swedish special forces.
This film series is based on a popular book series written by left wing
radical author/journalist Jan Guillou and therefore offers a more
leftist, liberal point view in the world of espionage.
Hamilton - I nationens intresse (2012)is based on one of the novels
that was written during the cold war and some storyline details,
people, etc have been changed in order to update the material.
The story is pretty simple, Hamilton goes undercover with a group of
Russian weapons smuggler who are stealing Swedish made rockets. But the
smugglers gets attacked by a unknown group of heavily armed soldiers.
Hamilton suspects they might have connection to a Private military
contractor, based in the USA. He starts to investigate, but quickly
ends in trouble...
As I mentioned earlier there have been many adaptations of the books,
mainly made for Swedish TV. The technical quality have been poor, or
downright crappy. This film however has a very impressive, high,
production value, direction and some nice action sequences, rarely seen
in Swedish film.
Director Kathrine Windfeld seems to be very inspired by the films of
Paul Greengrass, especially his work on the Bourne franchise.
Hamilton in this film is more darker, complex character, then I've ever
seen him before. Mikael Persbrandt brings a lot of personality and
depth, which is pretty impressive because the books portray him as an
cartoon figure, superhero who has no flaws.
Here he is more human, flawed, brooding and is haunted by his job, the
decisions he has to make. And how can he continue having this job and
live a normal life? Its nice update by Kathrine Windfeld and
screenwriter Stefan Thunberg.
Casting overall is pretty good but contains some surprises.
Seba Mubarak as Mouna Al Fathar, a PLO intelligence officer, friend and
colleague to Hamilton is well casted. But the problem is that Mouna was
more independent, in the books, and here almost does nothing other
looking beautiful next to Hamilton.
It isn't Seba Mubarak fault, mainly a script flaw, and a waste of a
talented actress who has nothing do. But I was surprised that they
didn't cast some Swedish actors with middleastern background, like Nina
Zanjani, Nour El-Refai etc.
Lennart Hjulström as Hamiltons closest boss and father figure is
excellent and does his job perfect. And he comes close to the original
in the books.
Jason Flemyng as Rob Hart is good but I felt that this should been
played by an American actor, someone like Michael Madsen, Michael Biehn
etc. Rob Hart is one of the bad guys and Flemyng seems to have had a
lot of fun with the character.
The biggest problem with this film is the script, it touches on some
very interesting subjects like Swedish weapons export, corruption among
Swedish politicians, private military contractors, but unfortunately
Stefan Thunberg doesn't manage to fit the pieces together.
Too bad, because recently a new discussion has blossomed in Sweden over
sales of weapons to Saudi arabia. Also and ongoing discussion about
certain politicians and their connections to an oil company called
Lundin Oil.
One of the largest stock holders is Swedish minister for Foreign
Affairs Carl Bildt. When two Swedish journalists wanted to investigate
Lundin oils affairs in Sudan, they were arrested. Bildt has so far done
nothing to release them.
All the above mentioned is touched upon but never developed throughout
the film.
So a very flawed film experience but with higher production values then
usual. So future viewers who expect this film to be better then Green
Zone (2010), Shooter (2007) might be disappointed.
But it is worth a rental, mainly because of Persbrandts approach to
Hamilton.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Swedish Daniel Craig?, 30 September 2012
![]()
Author:
kosmasp
That's not me saying or asking that, but what the majority of the
people who rented it at our videostore kept saying. So there must be
something to it then I guess. He has the stoic charisma of the famous
British actor, but you shouldn't really compare the movies (Bond on one
hand and this on the other).
Hamilton is a pretty neat and slick movie that has a few things going
for it. There is a fight scene towards the end, that is really good.
There are a few developments that you might not foresee as they happen
and it does not take prisoners. Very uncompromising then, but very good
for it too. It's an international cast, with a big conspiracy and a
view on the world, that some might feel is very close to reality.
Whatever you may think about plausibility though, the movie is very
well executed ... no pun intended
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Swedish one-detective focused film with a difference, 17 March 2013
![]()
Author:
Bene Cumb from Estonia
According to my knowledge and information obtained from non-Scandinavian viewers, a Swedish/Scandinavian crime film is associated with Beck/Wallander type of detective, the events taking place in a Scandinavian and/or neighbouring country, slow running pace and much focusing on local nature. Hamilton is a more British/US secret service guy, the venue is global, scenes alternate in a fast motion and the persons act in an urban and military surroundings. Thus, a totally different concept, but apparently attracting more younger viewers. The cast is memorable and strong (Mikael Persbrandt as Carl Hamilton, Jason Flemyng as Mercenary Rob Hart, Pernilla August as Prime Minister - above all), with several British actors, the protagonist knows and speaks different languages and has both physical and mental challenges. The progress of events seems logical, technology achievements and vocabulary do not prevail, and there is no direct imitation of international agents and superheroes. A good result, no mediocre home-spun stuff, I am eager to watch new series with this character.
I enjoyed this film............................., 13 May 2013
![]()
Author:
terry-820-445768 from United States
I've read all the other reviews and I think some other reviewers are
speaking about a different film.
This movie was very comfortable to watch. Sure, plot has been done
before. But so what, that doesn't mean it cant be done again by
different characters. I think all of the characters were portrayed quit
convincingly. I was very comfortable with all of the acting and script.
This movie looked and felt more real and more believable to me than
many many other top rated action movies.
The direction was spot on. All of the action all went off very
realistically.
There are some twists to the plot that I certainly didn't expect. I'm
quite sure this is an enjoyable movie for all action film lovers if you
don't expect all action movies to be done with the same style of
direction.
I do hope to see more of these actors and the characters they portrayed
in this movie.
7 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
I thought it would be worse., 12 May 2012
![]()
Author:
MacShoreman from Sweden
This Swedish movie/TV production ain't that bad as I thought it would
be. 6/10 for a Swedish action movie based on a Jan Guillou novel is a
high rating in my book.
The film's better features one can thank in particular Michael Pers
Brant (who I'm not a huge fan of normally) and Seba Mubarak (her, I
would like to see in future major roles). Gustaf Hammarsten as Swedish
technical consultant is both believable and nicely played. The role is
however small. Seba felt like the filmmakers could not portray fairly.
She gave more than enough, but they could not capture it fully. Big,
big disappointment is August, Ekborg, Hjulström and in most scenes
Anderson. They come in, read their lines and done. Zero intensity. I
expected much more from these Swedish giants. The foreign crew how ever
did fits into well. They do a good job and feels credible. I would not
nominate any actor in this production for any award though.
The close combat scenes stinks and there are other scenes when it feels
like someone poured syrup in the machinery. There are times when slow
tempo adds ... but usually it will just fall flat, boring and TTBA (Try
To Be Artsy).
The screenplay is more pretentious than good. I have no high thoughts
of Jan Guillou. In my opinion he is probably one of the most
speculative writer, journalist and media personality in Sweden. That
and a nasty self-righteous attitude shines through in all his
productions.
Many negative words for a movie I rate 6/10 but thats the thing. It is
never the less entertaining and if one starts to watch one want to see
the whole movie.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Great Aerial Views Of Stockholm, 9 May 2013
![]()
Author:
Viktor Vedmak (realvedmak) from Canada
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
If you don't like this movie for any other reason, you should still see
it for absolutely brilliant shots of Stockholm from air.
Other than that, movie is OK. I give it a 10 because I believe in
movies deserving either a 1 or a 10, as you should either see them or
not.
Its basically about Swedish James Bond, minus the gadgets (that was a
serious miss, they should have given Hamilton some toys), somewhere
between AAA and B budget Hollywood movie. Fight scenes were done well,
drama scenes were done not as well, but overall I enjoyed myself as did
my wife.
1 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
To Reviewer Michael W. Olesen-Your Comments are a Joke, 5 May 2013
![]()
Author:
Ladybbird from Dominican Republic
Your stated that many critics such as you viewed the US as the REAL Terrorists - they are and have been for years- who do you think supplied al Queda & other terrorists for years with arms??? As to your comments about Russia, they, others and Saudi Arabia warned the US about terrorists going to hit the Boston Marathon, months before it happened. So did the UK & Israel intelligence services warn the US 6 WEEKS BEFORE 9/11 they were going to be hit by air attacks ALL warnings were ignored! Wake up dear! Many Americans are brainwashed, thank goodness many are not! Unfortunately they are not the ones in power like your heads of "Homeland Security & the FBI" Sad that President Obama is not informed by any of those warnings, he is also not allowed to inspect nor audit the US Gold Reserves. What other country in the world allows their gold reserves to be owned by private Republican companies?? Post your reviews on the director/producer/actors etc of the movie... and not your comments on how wonderful and perfect the US is. Its a truly beautiful country with many good American people, but is destroyed by greed and hunger of power by the money men in power God Bless and keep safe the good Americans
| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] |
| Plot summary | Ratings | Awards |
| External reviews | Parents Guide | Main details |
| Your user reviews | Your vote history |