Polar (film)

Polar is a 2019 American-German neo-noir action thriller film based on the 2012 webcomic of the same name. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick and Matt Lucas. It revolves around an aging assassin on the verge of retirement, who himself becomes targeted by his employer willing to cash in on his pension.

Polar
Promotional poster
Directed byJonas Åkerlund
Produced by
  • Robert Kulzer
  • Mike Richardson
  • Keith Goldberg
  • Jeremy Bolt
  • Hartley Gorenstein
Written byJayson Rothwell
Based on
Starring
Music byDeadmau5
CinematographyPär M. Ekberg
Edited byDoobie White
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25)
Running time
119 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Germany
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish

The film was released on January 25, 2019, streaming on Netflix as an original.[1]

Plot

Duncan Vizla, aka "the Black Kaiser", is an assassin, working for a company named Damocles. In 14 days, upon reaching mandatory retirement on his 50th birthday, Vizla is set to receive half his pension, amounting to $8 million.

Mr. Blut, Damocles’ owner, intends to sell Damocles and is having all assassins approaching retirement killed by other Damocles operators, thus retaining their pension funds and inflating the company's value. Additionally, a Damocles contract clause stipulates that, should employees die without a will or named beneficiary, the company assumes all their assets. Vizla is the latest operative to be hunted down.

Cast

Production

The film was first announced in October 2014 as a live action adaptation of Dark Horse Comics' Polar, developed by Dark Horse Entertainment and Constantin Film. A spec script for the film by Jayson Rothwell was purchased.[3] In October 2017, Mads Mikkelsen signed on to star in the film.[4] In February 2018, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick and Matt Lucas joined the cast with Netflix onboard to distribute the film.[5]

Filming began early February 2018 in Orono, Ontario, Canada,[6] and continued around February 23 in Toronto, Ontario, with noted Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund at the helm.[7]

In September 2018, musician Deadmau5 announced that he was in the process of producing the film's original score.[8]

Netflix started streaming the film on January 25, 2019, with Deadmau5 releasing the soundtrack on the same day.[9]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was released by Deadmau5 on January 25, 2019, through his record label Mau5trap.[10] The soundtrack's release details were announced on January 8, 2019, along with the film's initial trailer. A single from the soundtrack album, "Midas Heel" was released on January 11, 2019, followed by the vocal version called "Drama Free" featuring Lights which was previously released on Mau5ville: Level 2.[11] Several tracks of the score (such as "Somb", "Wilhelm" and "End") feature elements from Deadmau5's previous tracks from his seventh studio album While(1<2), as well as two new tracks named "Nosedive" and "Camilla", the former being a remake of his unreleased track "Rio", the latter being known previously as "Suite 02".

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 19% based on 47 reviews, with a weighted average of 3.17/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An action thriller starring Mads Mikkelsen as the world's most dangerous assassin should be terrifically entertaining, but Polar proves it's possible to ruin anything if you try."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 19 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[13]

References
  1. Miska, Brad (December 18, 2018). "First Look at "Hannibal's" Mads Mikkelsen in Netflix's 'John Wick'-esque 'Polar'". Bloody Disgusting.
  2. "Jonas Akerlund on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  3. "Graphic Novel 'Polar' Gets Film Adaptation from Dark Horse, Constantin". Variety. October 22, 2014.
  4. "Mads Mikkelsen to Star in Action-Thriller Movie 'Polar'". Variety. October 26, 2017.
  5. "Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick & Matt Lucas Join Mads Mikkelsen In The Action-Thriller 'Polar'". Deadline. February 23, 2018.
  6. "Mads Mikkelsen is in Orono for filming of action thriller 'Polar'". kawarthaNOW. February 13, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  7. "Netflix and Constantin start production on Polar". Comingsoon.net. February 23, 2018.
  8. "Goat Lord on Twitter: "well, the mouse is outta the bag,....working on my first film score for @constantinfilm @Netflix's #Polar..."". Twitter. September 18, 2018.
  9. "Polar Film Trailer Featuring The Music Of Deadmau5 Now Available". musicnewsnet.com. January 8, 2019.
  10. "Deadmau5 on His Scoring Debut for Netflix's 'Polar': 'I Wanted to Wait for the Right Thing'". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  11. "midas heel by deadmau5 on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  12. "Polar (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  13. "Polar". Metacritic. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
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