Zero Tolerance (1999)

Brilliant and touching

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I just had a revelation: people in Sweden like Swedish movies, no matter how goddamn awful they are in every department, because watching a Swedish movie means not having to deal with the enormous pressure of having to read subtitles! Well I'm sorry English flunkies, there's no joy in being Swedish when you're watching Noll Tolerans, because the actors in this one go to great lengths to make the dialogue IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR! They're like: "Mff.....mlllg....asså mmff....mffmlflflf...", I'm like: "Huh?? Speak up you talentless aphasia victims!", and Swedish critics are like: "Best action movie ever!" Am I from another planet here?? Am I the only one to see just how awful, generic, dull, obnoxiously badly acted and incomprehensible this forgettable mess is? I can live with the fact that Swedish movies in general are awful. What really bugs me though, is how Swedish critics as well as average Joes (or should that be average Svens?) praise this stuff as high art! "Oh yes, Noll Tollerans is as good as an action movie can possibly get! ...in Sweden, anyway. Because as we all know Swedish movies need special treatment and should be rated on the "good for a Swedish flick" scale rather than the "good period" scale. What's that you say? Bergman who?"Um... this review is getting as incomprehensible as the movie itself. The point I'm trying to make is that Sweden HAS produced great films in the past, but critics choose to ignore that, praise trash, and thus movies like Noll Tolerans and Hip Hip Hora get 10-star reviews. This movie sucks. I love movies and the Swedish movie industry makes me want to kill myself. Is this really the best we can do??Rant over.

Marketed as one of Sweden´s first real action movies ever, "Noll Tolerans" therefore has a lot to live up to. But in my eyes, this is more of a regular cop-thriller than a heavy action movie. One problem is that "Noll Tolerans" showcases the biggest action scene five minutes into the movie, and every other action scene later on feels like a step down. The ending feels extremely tired. But you can´t deny that this is still very competent work.The movie begins shortly before Christmas eve, when policeman Johan Falk (Jacob Eklund) runs into foul business on the street. After a frenetic car chase he is confronted with two jewel-thieves, and after a violent shootout one of the robbers gets killed. Thanks to witnesses the other criminal is later arrested. But he manages to threaten the witnesses to silence, and after a while the police force is after Johan Falk instead. Now he must prove he is innocent."Noll Tolerans" is an ambitious movie, but you can´t deny that in the States this would have been a straight to video-release. The story is not interesting enough and the pace is awfully slow. Action fans can´t be too happy with this one, but it did get a sequel called "Livvakterna" two years later.2/5

From the moment the car chase at the beginning of this film starts you know you are in for a thrilling ride to the end.I have watched a number of Swedish films of this genre on local cable here in Australia and have come to realise the Swedes make excellent thrillers.This film's plot is hardly original ... wrongly accused cop seeks truth and justice ....but it is done with such style and elegance (yes elegance, the production design, lighting and cinematography are superb)that the plot holes, mercifully few that there are, are hardly noticed.The actors (all unknown to me ...but I assume well known in Sweden) are excellent. The tough, thoughtful hero (Jakob Eklund)and the fearful villain (Peter Andersson) in particular add greatly to an already thoroughly satisfying film.Congratulations to all involved ..I hope the sequel "Livvakterna" is as successful.

Disappointing action movie about a police offer on the run. Concerns the dangers of testifying, but that aspect appears to be only an excuse for the story rather than a basis for it. We have seen it all before, particularly in US movies. If you are hungry for Swedish police action, Hassel - Förgörarna or one of the more recent Beck movies would be a better choice.