If you haven't seen the three seasons of Bordertown, I can't imagine this movie making any sense. Even having seen the prior series, the plot in this one is so ludicrously bad it beggars belief.
Firstly, the most compelling reason to watch Bordertown is Ville Vertanen (Kari Sorjonen) who is compelling to watch. An absolute virtuoso. He looks a lot like Steve McQueen would have looked at 65 (although Vertanen is younger than that). The character he and the writers have created is wholly unique and compelling.
Then, there is the character of his daughter, Janina (Olivia Ainali), whom I could not stand in the original series. Her arrogance and moralizing and telling everyone what was wrong with them was frustrating. She is coddled, spoiled and indulged by both her parents. When the boy, in the series, knocked the snot out of her, after being repeatedly bullied, I cheered. This movie has toned her down a lot. She is not nearly so annoying.
The mysterious Lena (Anna Sinisalo) is back and is as much of a mystery as ever.
The problem with this movie and the reason it has lower reviews than the series, is the absurd plot. No police agency would ever let a no-nothing child interview a renowned and highly-dangerous serial killer, like Maasalo (Sampo Sarkola) and then agree to allow him to address a class in person. Then, the height of incredulity, the police allow this child to make the decision on removing his restraints. Then, the idiots transport this lethal killer, not in the back of an armored van, but in the backseat of a car. The back-up car is trailing so far behind they cannot see the car with the serial killer. When they finally arrive, this 'crack' SWAT team, heavily armed and armored, go into this ridiculous maneuver designed to get them killed.
The ending, however, when Kari takes matters into his own hands, was very satisfying.
