Riders of Justice (2021) Review

Directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro, Gustav Lindh and Roland Møller

Synopsis: Riders of Justice follows recently-deployed Markus, who is forced to return home to his care for his teenage daughter after his wife is killed in a tragic train accident. But when a survivor of the wrecked train surfaces claiming foul play, Markus begins to suspect his wife was murdered and embarks on a mission to find those responsible.

Review: Riders of Justice is an action-packed thriller with Mads Mikkelsen on a quest of vengeance, where nothing can stand in his way.

Mads Mikkelsen is a tremendous actor that can bring any character to life; he can get the audience to really sympathise and relate to them; very few actors have the gift that Mads possesses.

Mads thoroughly excels in Riders of Justice, as a soldier named Markus, who goes home to deal with the sudden death of his wife, who was killed in a train accident, and to support his teen daughter. Things start to unfold when Otto, a survivor of the accident, appears at Markus’ door to prove that the train accident was actually an assassination to silence a witness. This is when the film cranks up the stakes; Mads doesn’t react physically, but his body language says it all. Mads has such an intense screen presence and plays such a believable badass.

The movie has some dark humour scattered throughout, and the supporting cast Nickolaj Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann, and Nicolas Bro bring the banter, levelling the tone of the movie and keeping us entertained. The relationship between the three is solid and they become good friends. They become almost ‘family’ to Markus’ daughter; even Markus warms to them. Their brains along with Markus’ brawn make them a deadly quartet.

The action scenes in Riders of Justice are awesome; the shootouts are very meticulous and random clips aren’t just shot into the air… (let’s just say, they don’t empty ‘400 Bullets’ at an enemy at arm’s reach, that’s for sure!). Mads skilfully assassinates enemies with an action-style that is reminiscent of Michael B Jordan’s combat-style in ‘Without Remorse’.

Mads definitely channels the aging action-hero role here and successfully delivers a fun action-packed movie. Markus is a calculated, killing machine that will be an instant hit with any action fans; he is a bit like Rambo.

All-in-all, Riders of Justice delivers the meal that the action fans are hungry for. It showcases Mads extensive acting-range and just how badass he can be! Markus and the finale will be more-than memorable for the fast-paced and intense shootouts.