Riders of Justice manages to be a lot of things rolled into one. There’s drama, comedy, action, tragedy, trauma, and well…there’s just a lot. Director and co-writer Anders Jensen takes a lot of genres and mixes them together to create a hybrid that works thanks to some fantastic performances and a story that doesn’t shy away from trauma and how it affects us.
The story focuses on Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) a soldier who comes back early from a deployment after his wife dies in a tragic train crash that his daughter survives. Just before the crash, Otto, a mathematician and statistician, offers his wife his seat and by chance this saves his life. Driven by guilt he searches out Markus and his daughter in a quest that looks for sense in the senseless which then becomes a crusade for revenge.
Riders of Justice (our critic loved it) will surprise you with its depth and heart. It’s the latest collaboration between Mikkelsen and Jensen who have a history of working together in films that blend comedy with serious subjects and bizarre story.
I chatted with the duo about this latest film and how Mads Mikkelsen is taking over the world of Hollywood.
This movie was fantastic. I was blown away. It was not what I expected at all. And just the emotional impact was amazing. You just did a fantastic performance, and the story was just great. Can you talk about how this film talks about coming to terms with grief as well as how sometimes fate is just fate?
AJ: Well, I mean, for me, it's a quite personal story, I mean, because, I mean, I had like this 40-year crisis where I lost my marbles and getting back from that is sort of a similar journey that Markus has in the film, although it's more dramatized. But when you reach that situation, I mean, I think everybody would try to sort of you look around and you start searching for why are we here?
What is the purpose and how do I how do I get back? And in order to get back, you need to find connections. I mean, you look for something predestined. I mean, is there something where fate is looking? I mean, but it can be small connections, like you work, you earn money, you buy food for your kids. That's the connection that will bring meaning to your life. But when you sort of lost everything, there are no connections.
And then you start doing like Markus. I mean, you see connections where there are none. And for me, that’s what I set out to do a movie about.
MM: I mean, I don't know if I can add, I think I can't remember who said this quote in an airplane that is about to crash you will find no atheists. And it’s a very true sentence.
My character has not really paid attention to that line because his airplane is completely crashing, and it just crashed. But he doesn't, as Thomas says he wants, if there is no meaning, he will just move on. All of a sudden, these three not super normal guys, comes up with a solution that might be the reason. And then that gives them gives him purpose in life. He wants, you know, down to earth explanations. That's the way he pursues his life.
One thing I took away from your character in this, too, was very much his need for control. Would his admission of God or any kind of spiritual connection mean that he didn't have absolute control? Would that be why he so riled against having belief?
MM: No, I think he just like most atheists, they like, think it's just it's just a funny story, honestly. It's an insane story. I mean, talking about conspiracies, this is the biggest conspiracy in history.
Seriously, did he walk on water? Did he make wine out of water? And so forth. It's just, it's insane. And it's like talking about fairies and everything else trolls. But still, there is something more between what we can call earth and heaven and that which can be whatever you want it to be, whether it's relations between people. And he seems not to be the strongest man when it comes to relations either. Basically, this man needs to reach out his hand and ask for help.
This is the journey he's on in the entire film. He can simply not ask anyone for help. And that's his problem.
AJ: And I think you could also say that Markus is he's driven so much by logic because he's not at all you know, he isn't in contact with any of his emotions because of his situation. And when you are driven by logic, you do not believe in God. You have to have emotions to because logic won't cut it.
The casting of this was superb, you know, Nic and Lars and Mads and everyone in the cast. Can you talk about bringing all of these characters in these actors together and how the bond there that was built?
AJ: Yeah, I mean, it's like always you do the parts I had Mads in mind, I knew Nicolaj but actually Lars and Nikolaj's I wasn't sure, they came on board later. I don't know. It's so hard for me because it's very subconscious. It's something that happens along the way. Suddenly you see very clearly that this is the right character. And once you've done the film, you can never imagine anyone else being that character.
I mean, you could say they all know how to how to find the balance that you need to find in this between comedy and drama. They're all superbly good at that.
MM: But the biggest surprise, I guess, was the girl who plays my daughter, Andrea, she was not only carrying the heavy lifting of the drama and the emotions of the film, but she's also part of the insanity when it comes to throwing lines away and coming across as if you're part of the universe, and she just nailed it right away. I think that we were all very stunned with her immediate understanding of this universe.
Also, she was the only female lead character in the entire film, which was really rare. And I really enjoyed the fact that you made this wonderful balance where you are a very tough guy, but you also have these very emotional scenes. As you said this balance of comedy and drama and it was so well done.
AJ: Yeah, I mean, she's the only remotely normal person in this movie. So actually, everything that where you to look on which you can relate to in real life goes through her a lot through the movie until you get into the mind of these guys.
But balance is something we work a lot with. I mean, the balance of not making it, too I mean, we cut out we edited out a lot of funny lines, especially on Otto's character, to try to meet the balance. So, it would come together, and you would believe that these characters were in the same movie.
MM: Something interesting happened because even though we spent a lot of time talking about how we should build a bridge, obviously we have two in the middle, but still a bridge from my world to the insane world. And we came up with a few ideas. But what we were like, that's got to be enough, it has to be enough, and we will find it in there somewhere. And when I watch the film, the moment that I realized that the bridge is super obvious is that when they knock on my door, these three guys you have as an audience a sense of like, no, don't open the door, this is going to end bad for you.
You don't want to be in company with these guys. Then ten minutes later, it's reversed. When I kill the first person you go, guys, run away from this. And that was the bridge because they're insane in their own different ways.
So, Mads you are now set to join not only the Harry Potter universe and Indiana Jones. You’ve taken over nearly over franchise now. What is it like taking over the world?
MM: I can only say it’s about time. (laughs) It’s obviously surreal. Even if I was an American or an English actor it would be surreal to be a part of so many different franchises. And as a Dane, it’s even more surreal.
I don’t know what to say about it. It’s fun. And It’s fun to get a text from a friend that says, “I just made a list.” It’s fun I don’t know what to add. These are things we all grew up with and it’s just surreal.
A pretty humble answer from an actor whose resume reads like a history of pop culture royalty. But it also speaks to the man himself that literally everyone wants to work with him.
Riders of Justice is in theaters and on streaming now! Fantastic Beasts 3 and Indiana Jones 5 are scheduled for 2022.