Such a frustrating disappointment

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

PUSHER II: WITH BLOOD ON MY HANDS is a sequel to the Nicolas Winding Refn's 1996 feature debut, and this time the story follows Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen) who just got out of prison and is looking to straighten out his life. Of course with these types of movies, you can usually guess that it will be really difficult and the person will likely fail despite their best efforts. Without spoiling anything, I can say that the resolution to this oft-told story isn't as downbeat as you might think. Mads Mikkelsen, my favorite part of PUSHER, does an even better job this time around as his character is further developed and easier to root for. The filmmaking style is much the same also but doesn't have the quite the same narrative structure, which works a little better in my opinion. The strongest part of this film is the writing, which does a good job of setting Tonny apart from the filth that surround him. Sure, his hands aren't really clean, but he's pretty tame compared to the people around him. Even the tattoo on the back of his head ('Respect') gets some significance, as it's the one thing he never gets from anyone, not even his father. Respect is always beyond his reach and field of vision. And that's just a single example of how PUSHER II is thematically deeper than its predecessor. I do think the basic story it tells is one that, like PUSHER, has been done before and better, but a criminal/junkie trying to go straight is ultimately a more compelling story by default. From a technical standpoint, the cinematography, while still digital, is greatly improved and the hand-held camera-work feels more controlled. I didn't mention this with PUSHER, but with this film also the score and soundtrack are incredible. In this one particularly, there was some of the electronic-style music that would feature heavily in DRIVE and ONLY GOD FORGIVES. Overall, PUSHER II is a significant improvement over PUSHER that has a more sympathetic lead character, compelling story, and one of Mads Mikkelsen's best early performances. Even if you didn't care for PUSHER, I would still highly recommend seeing this sequel.

It is hard to make a movie that hits the same atmosphere, and also the same punch and credibility, which was the case with Nicolas Winding Refn's debut movie Pusher. In Pusher II Refn has got his hands on some of the right stuff, the atmosphere is definitely there, also the credibility to some extent. But concerning the punch, Refn has totally missed, which is something the movie suffers from. The story takes place a couple of years after the first Pusher, where we this time aren't following the energetic and macho frank, but the subdues and (in his opinion) slick Tonny. He's just been released after 13 months in prison, where he leaves with a minor debt, to another prison inmate. Without having any idea of how to get the money, he seeks out his dad, Smeden (portrayed by a well performing Leif Sylvester Pedersen), to get a job. Smeden is a respected man in Copenhagen's criminal underworld, who is known for selling stolen cars. Smeden doesn't seem very thrilled to see Tonny, but in the end he is his son, so he agrees to give him a job. But Tonny has got more problems than first assumed, when he gets a visit from a former prostitute, who claims that he is the father to her, a few months old son. Therefore she demands that he takes a paternity test, so see if he actually is the father. And if that is the case, then demand maintenance of him. Tonny gets furthermore mixed himself up in some problems with some unknown kingpins, because of his friend Kusse-Kurt, who (like Tonny) isn't very clever. This forms the foreground history for Pusher II, but the movie isn't even as successful as its predecessor.The main character Tonny, is as mentioned a very subdues person, which is seen in peoples perception of him. Everyone besides his friends treats him very poorly, and considers him a loser. He pretends to not care about this, but deep down it hurts his self-esteem. Because of this, he has a very strong necessitate to show himself off, and has besides of that a strong need for recognition. This is the reason, why he does almost everything people tell him to, and puts up with people calling him various terms of abuse almost constantly. He seems most of all like a dog, who through its whole life has been beaten, and now just obeys orders, to get higher up in the hierarchy. This does that the movie is very "fluctuating", compared to Pusher, where there was a goal, and a manipulating and controlling person steered towards it. Because of this, Pusher II is not very good as a whole. The small loose ends in the story, is in the end supposed to appear as one big problem, which doesn't work after the intention. The movie was made because Refn had money problems, which can be seen. Many of the key things in the story, feels a bit like makeshift solutions, which were put together as fast as possible. I'm most of all referring to Tonny's friend Kurt's problem with the unknown kingpins, which doesn't work in any way after the intention. But in spite of the movies weaknesses, it still has its positive elements. The characters aren't something to cheer for, but concerning Tonny's life, you as a viewer really get the impression of how he is feeling. One of the last scenes, where he is sitting in an apartment and gets smeared, is very convincing. You can feel exactly how he feels, which is due to Mads Mikkelsen's performance. He (in spite of the few work conditions) really puts his stamp on this movie. After a few comical parts in movies like Blinkende Lygter (Flickering Lights) and De Grønne Slagtere (The Green Butchers), he again proves what a brilliant character-actor he is. You really get under the skin of Tonny, and experience how life is for a criminal, who can't find his place in the world. As a sequel to Pusher, the movie isn't worth a lot. But as a single movie, that shows a portrait of the criminal environment, it still detaches itself. The realism that its predecessor had is still very much there, something that doesn't happen a lot in a world, where Hollywood is spitting one unrealistic action film out after the other. So thumbs up to Refn and the actors for a fine drama in the criminal world, and let's hope that Refn continues to make movies as good as this or even better in the future.

Our protagonist, Tonny, is an ex-con and general screwup who just about everyone dislikes, for good reasons. His father, girlfriend, co-workers and most of his associates consider him to be the biggest goober head around, and from his actions you won't think they are far wrong.There is a lot of drug use in the film, but not much dealing, so the title is a bit misleading. However, the movie is good because of the excellent acting and the general zaniness of the plot; you never know what kind of mistake Tonny is going to make next. What's sure is that he will make one, and probably in the next couple of minutes. He's the kind of guy you can like on the screen but would be horrified to find living next door.Mads Mikkelsen as Tonny is awesome; he's about as far from the part of Le Chiffre in Casino Royale as a character could get. At first I had a hard time believing it was the same actor.Watch this when you're in the mood for a Danish gangster film featuring some madcap fun and general foolishness.

Pusher was a great movie no doubt so clearly i expected A lot from this one but i'm sorry to say that it does NOT and i repeat NOT at all reach the heights of the first one.it's generally boring and not so tuff and scary as the first one cause i can remember in some scenes from Pusher i was really frightened but not at all in this one.Mads Mikkelsen does a good job definitely but i really missed Kim Bodnia cause his role was far more intense and now i've heard that his not in pusher 3 neither is Mads! i hope pusher 3 goes back to the original environment from the first one and i'm glad to see that Zlatko Buric is back in this one cause he has only a very small role in pusher 2 and that sucks!!