Arctic

Europe's best actor Mads Mikkelsen fights for his life in the cold Antarctic in this new adventure survival drama. Fans of survival dramas will surely enjoy this one, but the film is too minimalistic for my taste, and there are no surprises or interesting scenes. Mads barely speaks, so the only thing to praise is his skill and creativity to survive. It's believably shot and everything makes sense, but the film lacks drive and tension, unfortunately. There is indeed a polar bear, but compared to The Revenant, it's not even worth mentioning. For fans of Mads, nature and survival films a must see, the rest can ignore it as they won't miss much. 60% (16/04/2019)

Arctic is pure Mads Mikkelsen brilliance—raw and intense from the very first minute. The stunning shots of endless, snow-covered Icelandic landscapes and the grueling conditions that must've come with filming make it clear that Mads is an absolute beast. This is a survival film that stands out; 97 minutes of gripping tension with almost zero dialogue, just pure willpower and endurance. You don't come across a survival story like this every day. (15/02/2021)

After a slow start, Arctic takes on a more dramatic character due to the hopelessness of the situation depicted, without resorting to thriller clichés, while retaining the parameters of a minimalist, believable survival drama worthy of the participation of my current favorite European actor. But don’t expect anything revolutionary, such as Boyle’s 127 Hours. [Cannes] (12/05/2018)

A conventional slow survival story where Mads Mikkelsen finds himself alive past the Arctic Circle after a plane crash and does all he can to come back to civilisation. It’s almost dialogue-free and everything relies on Mikkelsen’s acting and facial expressions – which is quite impressive. As for the plot, it doesn’t innovate much compared to other films of that kind. With time, I can therefore imagine how Arctic will be remembered as the one where Mads is dragging a sleigh. After the screening, I felt as exhausted as the main hero. [Sitges 2018] (07/10/2018)

I didn't realize what I was getting myself into until the moment that endless white landscape spread out before me. This couldn't be more monotonous, I thought. But after a few minutes, when I was wondering whether this role of his was outright stupidity, Mads decided not to leave it at that and started fighting with the snow. And suddenly I forgot that there's nothing around, suddenly I was rooting for him and living through every move he made. I wouldn't take that on with an average actor. I'd do it again with Mads. A strong 3 stars. (23/10/2021)