Having read some of Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander -books, I was relatively interested to see this film of the book without Wallander. After seeing this mini-series, I don't feel like commenting Mankell's performance without reeding the original book. Apparently it must have been hard for him to get over the famous figure, and I must honestly say, that although the story itself is of decent quality, I was slightly disappointed to see how the realistic touch of the Wallander-books has been lost here.
In short, the series is about a young policeman investigating the death of his old friend and colleague on his own, without the support of the local police. As so often in Swedish crime stories, conspiracies and international connections are to be expected. The story itself lacks realism, but not in a disturbing way, unless you really hate conspiracy theories. It is always funny, for a Finn, to see the Swedes's willingness to be in the middle of international politics. Fortunately this one doesn't go that far.
The main problem is the thinness of the main character, Lindman. It is a very lame performance compared to Kurt Wallander, so well played by Rolf Lassgård. In this case, Jonas Karlsson playing Lindman does not seem to have much of a clue, apart from looking good. On the other hand, the rest of the crew do way better.
In short, brutal violence does not cover up for thrill, and neither a bunch of cops create a crime story. Watching this one feels like sitting in a train; you always know which way the story is going, and can only enjoy the good view. A few points for the entertainment and Mankell's wild imagination though. And maybe another one for the well presented atmosphere of the forest-surrounded backward village. 5/10
