Sometimes the higher-ups in an entertainment medium make statements that don’t make a lot of sense to the viewing public. The machinations of the companies who make the things fans love are often inscrutable, sometimes misguided, and sometimes it’s worth speculating what their intentions are.
Mads Mikkelsen is a talented and beloved actor with a long history of fantastic performances. From the sinister villain inCasino Royaleto the complex teacher inAnother Roundtohis iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, he manages to shine in every role. He defies the separation between character actor and movie star, but not every project of his works out.
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Polaris a 2019 action thriller directed by Jonas Akerlundwith a neo-noir aestheticthat dropped straight to Netflix. The film follows Mads Mikkelsen as Duncan Vizla, AKA The Black Kaiser, an elite Hitman who is approaching retirement. His astonishing skills and intelligent fiscal management have ensured that he’s owed millions of dollars as a pension upon his retirement. To prevent his cashing in, his boss sends waves of assassins to take him out, forcing Vizla to fight his way through his former co-workers. Mads is expectedly excellent as Vizla, a taciturn warrior who is haunted by his past actions and begrudgingly returning to his violent ways in vengeance. He’splayed similar characters before, and he’s the best part of the film.
Critics were brutal toPolar, leaving it with a 19 out of 100 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. It wasdescribed as faux Tarantinoor a film imagined by twelve-year-olds, almost every critic tore it to shreds. The only upside for most was Mikkelsen in the lead role. The audience score is better, coming in at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, a respectable D+. There are fans of the film, but most still just praise Mikkelsen’s performance with a lack of interest in the script. The premise is roundly believed to be fairly strong, but most find the execution to be lacking. The film can’t take much credit for its premise, however, because it’s a direct adaptation of a webcomic.
Polarby Victor Santos began publishing in 2012 and grew from online distribution to several graphic novel releases. The film is adapted from the first volume, subtitled “It Came From the Cold”. The adaptation began when Jayson Rothwell wrote up the spec script in 2014. Producers Constantin Film and JB Pictures briefly shopped the story aroundbefore partnering with Netflixfor its release. Stars joined the film over the following few years and filming began in 2018. The film’s reception was surely a disappointment to those involved with the project, evidently so much so that they’re now trying again.
The Black Kaiseris a recently announced action thriller directed by Jonas Akerlund with a neo-noir aesthetic set to be shopped around to buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The filmfollows Mads Mikkelsen asDuncan Vizla, AKA The Black Kaiser, an elite hitman who discovers a deadly conspiracy that houses many of the world’s greatest assassins. This is a film that adapts a different part of the same story, led by the same star in the same role, helmed by the same director, written by the same screenwriter, and produced by the same production companies. Yet, in their initial announcement, the companies involved stress thatThe Black Kaiseris neither a sequel nor a prequel to 2019’sPolar.
The obvious accusation is that the production company, cast, and crew want to distance themselves from a previous flop.Sequels that are extremely differenthave stretched that term in the past, but the idea that the same team can adapt different portions of the same text twice without relation seems strange. People involved with the project are describing it as a fresh adaptation, just taking the same work and taking another crack at it. Sure, the creators can describe it however they choose, and the link between a work and its follow-up is often tenuous but is there any way to release this work without it being described asPolar’s second attempt? It seems clear that the people involved saw something worthwhile in the project, but it didn’t resonate with critics or most audiences, and they are refusing to give up on the idea.
There is something worth respecting in clinging to an idea that an artist finds inspiring, regardless of how the first try is perceived. The new work needing to distance itself so heavily from its first attempt feels as if they’re making excuses. There are countlessexamples of a seriesin which the first entry doesn’t meet expectations and the second shocks the world with its quality. Perhaps the people behindThe Black Kaiserwill defy expectations and manage to adapt the same work so impressively differently that audiences will forgetPolarever existed. Fans can only hope that Akerlund, Rothwell, and Mikkelsen can put to screen whatever they found in the soul of Santos' text in their second try.
