ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Arctic (2018) - Review

Updated on October 30, 2019

Arctic (2018) - Review

Mads Mikkelsen (playing Overgard) is stranded, plane wrecked in the arctic with nothing more than a broken down plane for shelter, and not before long a helicopter by chance comes past the plane wreckage. However, disaster strikes as the helicopter - due to severe snow storm weathering crashes after locating Overgard in the snow.

Now 2 plane wreckages, Overgard makes his way over to the helicopter crash site looking for survivors, but the pilot was killed on impact, leaving just the passenger alive, a young woman named Maria Thelma. Maria is wounded quite severely, and Overgard must decide whether to stay in the safety of the plane wreckage or make way to a base camp miles away.

Mads Mikkelsen has never once done a disappointing movie, and Arctic is no exception. Mikkelsen’s performance in Arctic is some of his finest, especially given that with the movies desolate setting it is all down to his performance that essentially makes the movie a success or a bust. Thankfully, Mikkelsen keeps the tension high with his flawless performance that rivals Leonard DiCaprio’s The Revenant, which has a similar survivalist theme.

Arctic is a fine survivalist movie without anything holding it back, especially since Mikkelsen has such prominent screen presence showing he can do versatile work as an actor, as well as setting up the tension which surrounds Arctic from start to finish. We learn, not that it isn’t all that well known at this point, Mikkelsen is a pilot who has been stranded at a plane wreckage for quite some time, but how long exactly is not made all that clear, not that this takes anything away from the movie overall, although it is interesting.

The director, Joe Penna, makes his directorial debut with Arctic (full feature length film, that is), and proves he can keep tensions high for a long length of time with minimal action, and a lot of survivalist drama. Throughout the movie it becomes clear that there is total drive coming from Mikkelsen’s character, but what is truly impressive is the lack of talking throughout the movie, yet every moment is viscerally gripping. Joe Penna clearly wanted to make a movie that took audiences on a journey through the arctic which is why the title of the movie, Arctic, really sticks in the mind all throughout the movie. An impressive first movie debut for Penna, and throughout the entirety of the movie not once was there a wasted camera shot, as everything was perfectly placed and timed.

The execution of Arctic was nearly as good as the writing, with a focus remaining on the struggles of journeying through the depths of the arctic. Everything within Arctic rides on Mikkelsen’s performance, and the struggle really felt clear and ever-present throughout the movie, as it was within Mikkelsen’s eyes. When something along the journey wasn’t working Mikkelsen would immediately re-route dragging the sledge holding the wounded young girl across the thick snow for what felt like an eternity and that’s all the while ones sat at home in the warm comforts of a sofa.

On the maps the journey seemed fairly doable, but add in the fact that there are mountainous terrains and the whole trip begins to seem impossible. The struggle between man and the extremities of the arctic come into full swing throughout this movie, as Mikkelsen must overcome the pain and physical restraints to get himself and the young girl to safety.

Why I Respect Arctic!

Clearly the arctic is no place for the faint of heart as this movie has proven, and with food, supplies, and time running out things become intense real fast watching Arctic.

Generally, one feels the need to respect survivalist movies, and Arctic falls neatly into this category. Typically speaking, survivalist movies have never really been a big deal in my eyes, but there’s no denying that there is no better deserving sub-genre for Oscar worthy attention. Arctic, again, falls perfectly into alignment with this theme for an Oscar worthy movie.

Never have I myself ever really loved survivalist movies, but there’s no escaping them, especially since these appear to be the better of the movies that have released in recent years. Arctic is an intense movie to eyewitness, but this is the joy of a great survivalist movie, as audiences truly expect to be at the edge of their seats. Arctic is a great survivalist movie.

Going into first watching the opening scene for Arctic my toes were twitching as there was no knowing whether this would be a good viewing or a complete disaster. But, as soon as the obvious becomes apparent and the movie starts rolling it was an intense rollercoaster from beginning till end.

Mikkelsen delivers an Oscar worthy performance, the vast open space of the arctic is breathtaking, the drama is relentless, and the pressure is truly on to get to safety before time runs out and the young girl dies from her potentially fatal wounds. All the way through the movie Mikkelsen is poised, alert, fast acting, and determined to save the young girls life to get her home to her child.

Rating: 4/5

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)