Annika: Crime reporter - Il testamento di Nobel

As another entry in the never-ending series of Yellow Bird-produced Swedish crime dvds. "Nobel's last will" is a film reboot of the character Annika Bengtzon. Liza Marklund's crime reporter has not been seen on film for nearly a decade, and this reboot feels fresh in my opinion, thanks in part to the very apt casting of relative unknown Malin Crépin in the title role, which she handles really well. Overall, the quality of acting is probably what works best in the movie, the supporting cast is very experienced and skillful consisting of many experienced Swedish actors.

Full marks for producing movies with an interesting female protagonist, which is not that common in the crime genre, and her being a reporter and not a police officer opens up different possibilities and story angles.

The main problem and a major reason that I don't like this movie very much is the formulaic structure of the plot, using plot devices that I've seen a thousand times before. Those of us who have watched Swedish 80s crime series "Hassel" will immediately realize what is about to happen when one of the characters enter a freezer, for example.

Another problem is the poor quality of the special effects, which are so obviously fake that it hurts to watch. Blowing up a new car was clearly not an option for a film crew on a limited budget for example, so instead they opted to involve SFX-firm The Chimney Pot which came up with a car explosion so horrible it must surely be a candidate for worst SFX of the year, and sadly it ruins much of the viewing experience when the poor quality of the movie-making is so obvious.

Overall, this is a decent Swedish crime-flick, but don't expect anything else than a usual run-of-the-mill generic crime film we've seen so many of lately.