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Created May 06, 2012 02:45AM PST • Edited Jul 22, 2022 09:04AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   The slang for corporate recruiter once connoted a frisson of danger. Then “Headhunter” lost its edge. Headhunters returns it and then some. An insanely funny thriller, it rivals fellow Scandinavian noir classic Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for outrageously inventive action, adding dark comedy to amp up the fun.

   The movie focuses on two headhunters, one a recruiter who tries hard to be cool, the other a former commando who really is cool. The recruiter – a little weasel of a man – gets what’s coming to him, ending up naked and bleeding. And more. Just 5’ 6", he admits to overcompensating for his short stature, so his extreme comeuppance indulges our taste for schadenfreude. Man does it ever.

   The ex-commando – a business ninja – rivals James Bond as a deadly alpha male. Between these headhunters comes the gorgeous blond married to the first and attracted to the second. It doesn’t end well.

   A terribly funny movie, Headhunters’ several gross-out LOLs had our audience howling with laughter. E.g., the poop scene extraordinaire arguably tops the one in Slumdog Millionaire. That’s some major shit!

   Norwegian hit now, Headhunters is soon to be a major Hollywood movie. Fast-moving subtitles notwithstanding, they’ll have a hard time topping the original.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Imagine when Hollywood gets a hold of these roles. (Scandinavian originals in parentheses)

   • The headhunter, an extreme antihero, sociopathic but sickly admirable in the end. (Aksel Hennie)
   • The leonine beauty who is his wife. He married up. (Synnøve Macody Lund)
   • The stud who comes between them, once a commando, now a business ninja. (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
   • A desperate girlfriend who will do anything. (Julie R. Ølgaard)
   • A famous detective who gets groupie propositions via texts. (Reidar Sørensen)

   And several juicy bit parts.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Too much fun, this witty film about corporate and criminal headhunters: dirty fun, schadenfreude fun, clever fun and plain old LOL fun. No wonder an American remake is in the offing.

    Jo Nesbø’s novel will translate perfectly to New York or San Francisco or any other American Gotham. Oslo hardly has the market cornered on arrogant wealth. Hollywood has lots, for instance.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.2

    Remember back in the day when Schwarzenegger shocked the world by using dead bodies as shields? Headhunters updates that trick in one of its lighter heavy moments. Get the drift?

17. Sex Erotic 2.6

18. Violence Savage 4.0

19. Rudeness Profane 2.9

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.4

    A viewer from the previous show informed me that the movie has several plot holes. Fair enough. Let’s just say it’s surreal, with an rFactor of 2.4.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 2.1

23. Biological Surreal 3.0

24. Physical Glib 2.0