The Third Wave (2003)

Johan Falk hasn't been working for over a year since he resigned from the police. Most of all he wants to move out to the countryside, but fate has a different thought.

Director:

Anders Nilsson

Writers:

Anders Nilsson, Joakim Hansson

Stars:

Jakob Eklund, Irina Björklund, Nicholas Farrell

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jakob Eklund	...	Johan Falk
Irina Björklund	...	Rebecca
Nicholas Farrell	...	Devlin
Ben Pullen	...	Kane
Marie Richardson	...	Helén
Sylvester Groth	...	Dauphin
Lennart Hjulström	...	Sellberg
John Benfield	...	Stevens
Robert Giggenbach	...	Sorensen
Pierre Deny	...	Leblanc
Emmanuel Limal	...	Rocca
Hanna Alsterlund	...	Nina
Jacqueline Ramel	...	Anja (as Jaqueline Ramel)
Joram Voelklein	...	Van Nuys
Joep Sertons	...	Van Effen

Storyline

In The Hague, Holland, the new chief of Europol Sellberg broadcasts a tough speech against the third wave of crimes in Europe, promising to suffocate the schemes of powerful criminals. He invites his former detective and friend Johan Falk for a meeting, with the intention to join him to his team. Meanwhile, the executive Rebecca accidentally opens one correspondence of her mate, Kane, and finds that he launders illegal money for European mobsters. When she decides to disclose her discoveries to Europol, her life is jeopardized by the associates of her boy-friend, but Rebecca is rescued by Johan, and they have to fight against the organized crime to save their lives and Johan's family.

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Plot Keywords:

organized crime | third part | sequel | third in trilogy | part of series | 

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Taglines:

En hel kontinent håller på att stjälas. An entire continent is being stolen

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several entire blocks were constructed in Trollhättan to simulate locations of Munich and the Hague.

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Goofs

When Rebecca is sitting on the ferry to Hoek van Holland, the green screen used for the window is reflected in the shiny table.

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Quotes

Bodice: [Radio] We need a fucking hospital here!
Devlin: [Radio] Roger. And can we please use the proper procedure of language, over.
Bodice: [Radio] Fucking roger, out!

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Crazy Credits

"Dock INGET TACK till polisledningen i Göteborg som för tredje gången vägrat lyfta ett finger för att hjälpa oss. Tur att polishuset i Göteborg i övrigt är fyllt med samarbetsvilliga poliser..." Which translates roughly to: "But NO THANKS go to the police-management in Göteborg as they, for the third time, have been unwilling to lift a finger to help us. Lucky for us the police-houses of Göteborg are filled with cooperative officers..."

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Connections

Followed by Johan Falk: Lockdown (2015)

User Reviews

Painfully outdated conspiracy theories

It's important to note, when looking at the reviews and comments on this movie, that nearly all of them were written more than a decade ago. At the time, news media and the entertainment industry were just waking up to the new crime waves from Eastern Europe, and speculations and predictions were wildly out of proportion. This movie is a good example of that, and while it probably seemed somewhat realistic at the time, watching it for the first time 12 years later means almost two hours of facepalming.

Another funny thing is that of this first trilogy of Johan Falk movies, only the first one holds up today. "Noll tolerans" was a tight, domestic thriller, and while suffering from some genre clichés, it could very nearly have been produced today. The next two, "Livvakterna" and this one, simply come across as sensationalist speculations run amok. Wildly inaccurate numbers and absurd conjecture are painfully present throughout. Yes, financial organized crime was and is of course a large and real international problem, but neither the European governments or society as we know it fell, as this movie would have us believe. If you're just getting into the Johan Falk movies, I'd recommend you watch the first one and then move on to the 2009 installments. This initial trilogy is in many ways a set of relatively well made thrillers, but their wildly distorted look at contemporary events come across as mostly embarrassing today.

Details

Country:

Sweden Finland

Language:

Swedish English German French Dutch

Release Date:

15 October 2003 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Third Wave

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

SEK34,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,386

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sonet Film, Film i Väst, The Chimney Pot

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1