X
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
Summary Headhunters stars the talented Aksel Hennie as Roger, a charming scoundrel and Norway's most accomplished headhunter. Roger is living a life of luxury well beyond his means, and stealing art to subsidize his expensive lifestyle. When his beautiful gallery owner wife introduces him to a former mercenary in the possession of an extremely v...
Directed By: Morten Tyldum
Written By: Ulf Ryberg, Lars Gudmestad, Jo Nesbø
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
Headhunters
72
8.1
Where to Watch
Summary Headhunters stars the talented Aksel Hennie as Roger, a charming scoundrel and Norway's most accomplished headhunter. Roger is living a life of luxury well beyond his means, and stealing art to subsidize his expensive lifestyle. When his beautiful gallery owner wife introduces him to a former mercenary in the possession of an extremely v...
Directed By: Morten Tyldum
Written By: Ulf Ryberg, Lars Gudmestad, Jo Nesbø
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
72
77% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
23% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
72
77% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
23% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Headhunters is a dark adult entertainment, a wild and bloody adrenaline rush of a movie that deals in gleeful grotesqueness and over-the-top implausibilities.
Headhunters' title rapidly turns literal, and what seemed like a lightweight heist thriller careens into a bloody-minded game of cat and mouse.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 115 User Ratings
8.1
89% Positive
102 Ratings
102 Ratings
11% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 115 User Ratings
8.1
89% Positive
102 Ratings
102 Ratings
11% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
What a great movie. I guess this will be the Norwegian entry for the Academy Awards. Very good story, fast, intelligent, very good lead actor, wonderful performances in general. Sure it's all about that special thing in the motion picture industry, I guess this Director has just built his ..., it starts with an 'r' ;)
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The most intense, exciting and well-made movie I have seen in YEARS! Probably the best EVER in it's genre!! A must see for anyone and everyone, take all your friends!!!
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The compact Hennie is a wonderful actor, smoothly congenial when confident, uproarious when rattled. And he will be rattled-as well as stabbed, shorn, bitten, mangled, and worse.
Headhunters has less in common with the somber, brooding tone of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" than the cheeky black comedy "In Bruges."
At a time when many mystery thrillers fall apart in the final fifteen minutes, Headhunters maintains its integrity.
A smooth, intriguing opening and a predictable but emotionally satisfying home stretch bookend helmer Morten Tyldum's otherwise by-the-numbers Norwegian thriller Headhunters.
The film doesn't merit chinstroking: it's stuffed with Troma-style riffs around schlock, gore and human effluvia, bookended by Shallow Grave-like sections full of cynical machinations. The parts barely relate, never mind work together.
Definitely the most entertaining movie I have seen this year. It was an edge-of-your-seat, roller coaster ride of a movie. Thrilling and funny in an OMG - I can't believe this is happening kind of way, I highly recommend this movie.
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A captivating Scandinavian cat-and-mouse thriller that makes for a tight, incredibly entertaining ride. Director Morten Tyldum’s cinematic rendering offers palpable suspense, plenty of action, and a clever story line that’s hard to come by in the action-thriller genre. Tyldum succeeds by ignoring the particulars of common sense, darting full speed ahead, heaping on the twists with little regard for realism. Tyldum makes this tactic work for the film, constructing a series of imaginatively designed set pieces that are as tense as they are farcical. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, clearly made with an awareness of the silliness of it all, which strengthens the enjoyment of the viewing experience and overall resolution.
Aksel Hennie, who stars as the protagonist Roger Brown, is the go-to person anyone would need as a job reference. The ambitious headhunter is one of the best in his industry with arrogance to spare. His opening monologue about reputation is so seductive it will have you hanging on to his every word. But Jo Nesbø's novel is more than meets the eye, and Mr. Brown has a separate occupation. With his contacts and hundreds of interviews set up with potential candidates for C-level jobs, opportunity comes in setting up the meetings, and then robbing them blind of valuable art, with counterfeits in their place. Roger readily admits he's overspending, with almost all expenses going into impressing his wife Diana (Synnøve Macody Lund), who is high maintenance, and out of his league.
What seems to be just another mark with his latest job seeker, Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), backfires on Roger, as the film kicks into high gear. Roger suspects his wife is having an affair with Clas, a one time mercenary soldier who has found better fortune now as a CEO of a technology company, and who has a long lost painting stored in his Norwegian home. Jo Nesbø's story throws us a line, and hooks us line and sinker, into what turns out to be an extremely engaging, cat and mouse game of battle and wits between these two men.
Director Morten Tylan does a masterful job keeping the suspense in high gear and cohesive narrative throughout. Tylan impressively infuses the films action-oriented moments with a visceral, white-knuckle feel that proves impossible to resist. The inclusion of a few astoundingly tense moments perpetuates the movie's shift into a seriously engrossing piece of cinema. Although the climax isn't quite up to the level of that which preceded it, “Headhunters” has already established itself as one of the most exciting, flat-out captivating thrillers to come around in quite some time.
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This is a superb film, expertly crafted on every level. There are so many brilliant 'edge of your seat' set pieces that stay in your mind when the film has finished. It moves a long at a really good pace with slick editing and a score that keeps you transfixed throughout. One of the best thrillers I've seen in a long long time and a script that really brings the characters to life. These Norwegians don't mess around when it comes to film making. I can't wait to see more stuff from the guys who put this one together. Spot on
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An alright thriller with two truly great scenes.
1. Roger burying himself in all the fecal matter at the bottom of a porta potty, using the cardboard of the toilet paper roll as a breathing hole.
2. The twist of whether or not his wife was trying to kill him. In the garage when he finds the dead body of his security helper buddy in his car and then his wife comes out to check on him...damn what a situation for both of them to be in. It was fun and nerve-wracking watching both of them trying to guess what the other knows.
Great stuff there, though the rest is just ok. Short man gets his hot wife and saves the day and all is forgotten and forgiven. Who knew that getting married meant your wife actually loves you? Who knew she meant it when she said she wants kids?
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It takes forever to get going, honestly the first half hour even bored me.
The cat and mouse narrative doesn't have much to absorb and the most entertaining part comes at the end when there's really no interest in the outcome.
Now add to that the notable lack of a compelling character to root for, Headhunters comes across as a mediocre and weak thriller for something that could have made better use of its plot.
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Production Company
Friland Produksjon,
Yellow Bird,
Friland,
Nordisk Film,
ARD Degeto Film,
TV2 Norge,
Sveriges Television (SVT),
Danmarks Radio (DR),
Norsk Filminstitutt,
Nordisk Film & TV-Fond
Release Date Apr 27, 2012
Duration 1 h 40 m
Rating R
Tagline The hunt is on.
Awards
Kosmorama, Trondheim Internasjonale Filmfestival
• 2 Wins & 8 Nominations
Amanda Awards, Norway
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Philadelphia Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
