Came across this little gem quite by accident whilst browsing through worthless TV channels on a Monday night. So glad that I did; ARCTIC is one of those rare films that doesn't bother with endless backstories of overcomplicated subplots and just chucks you right into the thick of it- a plane crash victim attempting to survive the brutal conditions of the Arctic tundra. That's all it is and you know what? That's quite enough! The lack of dialogue is made up for by the story's sheer ability to draw you in as you become desperate to see whether the central character prevails... or fails.
As that central character, Mads Mikkelsen fires on all four cylinders, demonstrating what a powerful and versatile actor he is. He's not some buffed-up action hero or a stone-faced man of the wilderness: he's raw and real. He's just playing a smart guy trying to stay alive and coupled together with the breathtaking cinematography, the brooding soundtrack and the life-or-death situation, that makes for a great retelling of a really old story that has been told and retold over and over again with films like THE REVENANT, CAST AWAY and THE MARTIAN (the film that, I felt, had the most common with ARCTIC), somehow making it feel fresh and exciting in the process.
As that central character, Mads Mikkelsen fires on all four cylinders, demonstrating what a powerful and versatile actor he is. He's not some buffed-up action hero or a stone-faced man of the wilderness: he's raw and real. He's just playing a smart guy trying to stay alive and coupled together with the breathtaking cinematography, the brooding soundtrack and the life-or-death situation, that makes for a great retelling of a really old story that has been told and retold over and over again with films like THE REVENANT, CAST AWAY and THE MARTIAN (the film that, I felt, had the most common with ARCTIC), somehow making it feel fresh and exciting in the process.