Olsen-bandens sidste bedrifter

The previous film in the series was incredibly entertaining and sophisticated... those are some big shoes to fill, even for the same writers and main cast. Fortunately, they not only wore them, they made wearing them look *good*. More of the trademarks are added, probably the very last of them... ironically, this was originally supposed to be the last in the series. Fortunately, it was such a huge success that more were produced. We finally get Ove Verner Hansen as Bøffen, the part he was born to play... a Mafia-esquire hit-man who takes great pleasure in his work. Coupled with Bjørn Watt-Boolsen as the thoroughly capitalistic and only somewhat criminal business-man, we have the recipe for a delightful piece of Danish comedy with the Gang. With immense amounts of tiny clever details, this is sure to keep you laughing. The plot is very well-written, and takes our leads down a new path(though basically towards the same destination), with another variation on the opening scene in front of Vridsløselille state penitentiary. The pacing is flawless. I wasn't bored for one moment, even knowing most of what was coming. In addition to the aforementioned two recurring characters, Ole Ernst finally takes over as the younger police official, portraying a cowboy-ish, eager young detective. He compliments Axel Strøbye's dry, experienced, fed-up and realistic/pessimistic investigator perfectly. This and the next one are the only two that start in the Gang's dream destination... Mallorca. The humor is satirical and has that wonderful touch of humanity, making for pure hilarity. With fewer coincidences and easy ways out of situations than in the previous films, this is among the best of the series. Taking the audience along both to Zurich, Germany and the Danish stock exchange, and featuring the memorable shot of the balloons being released, this also has some of the most good-looking shots of the films. I recommend this to any fan of the series or any fan of Danish comedy in general, but I definitely recommend having seen the others before this. 8/10