Riders of Justice (2021)
93%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 28 nominations
A darkly humorous revenge thriller with satisfying depth and a dash of savory quirk, Riders of Justice makes another compelling case for Mads Mikkelsen as an all-purpose leading man.
Riders of Justice is the perfect blend of action and comedy, with a cast that will leave you in stitches. Mikkelsen’s performance is both tough and vulnerable, making you root for him even as he takes down bad guys. But what really sets this movie apart is its exploration of grief and the unexpected ways it can bring people together. Don’t let the title fool you, this is not your typical action flick – it’s so much more.
Production Company(ies)
Zentropa Entertainments, Film i Väst Zentropa International, Sweden
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Odense, Fyn, Denmark
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Estonian, Danish, Arabic
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Country of origin:Denmark, Sweden
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 14, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 21, 2021
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
riders of justice, action, Danish, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro, Gustav Lindh, revenge, thriller, Anders Thomas Jensen, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Sidsel Hybschmann, written by Anders Thomas Jensen, box office gross $77.0K, MPAA rating, reviewed by David Stratton, Alison Willmore, Mark Kermode, Philip De Semlyen, Wendy Ide, Kevin Maher, Ema Sasic, Jessie Gender, Hernán Ferreirós, Yasser Medina, James Luxford, produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Sidsel Hybschmann, directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, grief, loss, trauma, vigilantes, dark comedy, violence, witty screenplay, ensemble cast, character-driven comedy, satisfying depth, savory quirk, all-purpose leading man
Worldwide gross: $1,994,994
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,169,769
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,394
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 236,616
US/Canada gross: $77,115
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $83,871
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,679
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,441
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $16,794
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,570
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,300,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,764,316
Production budget ranking: 1,849
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,104,084
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$6,698,631
ROI to date (est.): -76%
ROI ranking: 1,850
Nikolaj Lie Kaas – Otto
Andrea Heick Gadeberg – Mathilde
Lars Brygmann – Lennart
Nicolas Bro – Emmenthaler
Gustav Lindh – Bodashka
Anders Thomas Jensen – Director/Writer
Sisse Graum Jørgensen – Producer
Sidsel Hybschmann – Producer
Director(s)
Anders Thomas Jensen
Writer(s)
Anders Thomas Jensen
Producer(s)
Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Sidsel Hybschmann
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 28 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (133) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (128) | Rotten (5)
Suffused with character-driven comedy, and not avoiding elements of violence, this is an outstanding film. The ensemble cast is flawless and the witty and deliciously complex screenplay is among the best we’ve seen this year.
October 2, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Mikkelsen manages to simultaneously lean into and dismantle tough-guy tropes while playing a stoic soldier reeling from the death of his wife in a train crash.
August 11, 2021
Alison Willmore
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
Fun in a “what on earth is happening” kind of way.
August 5, 2021
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
What separates the ensuing mayhem from a thousand generic thrillers out there is an impish streak and writing that smartly juggles big ideas, mad gun battles and guilty laughs.
July 28, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Philip De Semlyen
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
[A] very violent, very funny and oddly life-affirming film.
July 24, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It is, thankfully, less macho than that sounds.
July 23, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
…aside from the hefty action and dark comedy, what really stands out from this film is its grief component.
June 27, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Ema Sasic
Next Best Picture
An engaging yet surprisingly funny tale about trauma, empathy, and loss that never lets you forget the path that giving into your pain can take you down, and how the cycle never ends unless you work to stop it.
May 30, 2022
Jessie Gender
Jessie Gender YouTube Channel
A major example of how to take rewarding genre cinema tropes and load them with new meaning… [Full review in Spanish]
May 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Hernán Ferreirós
La Nación (Argentina)
As an action comedy I’m taken by surprise by its wacky premise about accidental vigilantes. [Full review in Spanish]
May 14, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
The title and posters for Riders of Justice suggest a Taken-style action flick, which this certainly isn’t. It is, however, a thoughtful comedy about those who are left behind by tragedy, and how the numbers don’t always add up to something meaningful.
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
James Luxford
City AM
I went in expecting a cool action flick, but I was surprised at how funny this was and, dare I say, even a little profound with the concept of coincidences and the butterfly effect of events.
February 19, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Jason Fraley
WTOP (Washington, D.C.)…
Plot
Markus, a deployed military man, has to go home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems to be plain bad luck – but it turns out that it might have been a carefully orchestrated assassination, which his wife ended up being a random casualty of.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Mads Mikkelsen is praised as an “all-purpose leading man” in Riders of Justice.
Anders-Thomas-Jensen.jpg
