Furia

The Norwegian film industry delivers yet another top series. Furia is well acted, well paced and has a really intriguing storyline, all of which keeps the tension mounting as we learn more and more about what's going on.

As a non-european, I have enjoyed the show. I have not judged the actors or director or any of the crew for this show.

No complains. Excellent show. Cinematography is very good.

The plot of radical right-wing groups is unusual and that got me hooked for this show. Even if Americans try to remake this show, it wont be as good as this original series.

WATCH IT !

Didn't feel something exciting started to happen until episode 4-5.

The story was well built and with good scenery.

As a Norwegian the chosen actors was kind of a disappointment. This is the same actors that they use in EVERY movie, plus they even changed their dialect. That made it even worse.

Furia is an intense and timely thriller about politics, terrorism, and identity in Europe. The story takes place in Norway and Germany and follows two main characters living under false names. Ragna, also known as Ellen, is a Norwegian secret agent working undercover in a dangerous neo-Nazi group. Asgeir is a former police officer in hiding, who gets pulled into a murder case that reveals something much bigger and darker.

The show is visually beautiful, using lots of drone shots to show Norway's peaceful nature and Berlin's rough city life. While some may find the drone use a bit much, it still gives the show a movie-like feel. The action scenes are intense but always connected to the characters' emotions.

The writing is strong, especially in how it shows the bad guys and the emotional struggles of the leads. Ragna/Ellen ((Ine Marie Wilmann) stands out as a powerful and complex character, while Asgeir's (Pål Sverre Hagen) emotional side might not work for everyone.

In Season 2, the story gets even more exciting. Ragna is wrongly accused and, together with Asgeir, travels across Europe trying to stop a terrorist attack. With suspense, strong acting, and real-world issues, Furia is a smart and gripping watch for fans of serious thrillers.

As a cooperation between Norwegian and German production companies, I guess there was an agreement to carve up the action between the two countries and use actors of both nationalities. I have to say that I am impressed with the standard of English of all the players - the Norwegians and Germans had to converse in English amongst themselves but then both nations are reputed for the high level of their language instruction.

Unlike other reviewers, I found the second part of the series, set in Germany, more exciting despite the often gaping plot holes. I had found Asgeir's move to the remote village not credible and didn't believe that his face couldn't be kept out of the newspapers or even local TV. Someone in a witness protection programme doesn't blithely carry on in their former job but just with a lower profile and a new name. Some of his actions, as a former Special Ops member, were also hard to fathom.

Ragna's role was problematical as well. There is a debate all around the world in these times of terrorism from whatever quarter as to whether undercover agents should be allowed to break the law during an infiltration of a subversive group. She was doing so in spades to enable herself to ingratiate herself into the bunch of right wing loons who had a plan to destabilise Europe.

The show was hers, really; after the action switched to Germany, Asgeir's role and participation became minimal and I assume the actor playing his part was written in to those scenes simply because he had demanded to be in the eight episodes. Things got rather far-fetched at times, especially when tracking the mobile phone. What top level agent would believe that such a careful terrorist group would have kept it on? And if they did, why?

As I said, there were several plot holes, the most glaring of which was that no one thought of speaking in Arabic to the school terrorists. My Arabic language skills are not the best, but I would have placed what country they were from within a minute.

Well, it was all done at a fast pace with plenty of action and I enjoyed it.

I watched with subtitles as conversational Norwegian is beyond me but the German was pretty clear and the English-language parts were perfectly enunciated. I'm going a bit deaf so I usually watch even English programmes with subs, but these foreign actors were easier to understand than many English ones! This was a worthwhile watch.