not horrible nor great

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I think this is a very good film, but I can understand how it struck negative chords with kevjfarrell (see the above review). There is a pedestrian quality about the plot. In some places we can almost imagine the filming of a scene. Transitions are seamless, but they have a seemingly manufactured quality about them. Perhaps it is all a matter of a frame of mind. Perhaps I am tired of guns, noise, furious action and the hyperventilating in today's popular entertainment. So I just let myself go and became immersed in the drama. I disagree with Mr Farrell in regards to the acting. Far from seeing it as sophomoric posturing for entry into film school, I found it natural, gripping and well-paced. In a word, realistic.I have noted that photography has not been mentioned in the above reviews. The camera is very much a part of this film. The cinematography contains a full pallet of colour and texture with intriguing, grainless resolution and depth of field. Scenes shift between chromatic hues to almost monochrome where light and shadow replace contrasting colour. You are neither jarred nor bullied by these changes. There is a gentleness, which is complimentary to the subject.The argument in the film is staged by gentleness vs violence, understanding and compassion vs reactive predilection. It is difficult to rate this film on a purely technical level. It could be rated less than my 8, and it could be rated more highly. I'll settle on 8 and just say that I am very glad I watched this film, and I hope to watch it again. I recommend the Danish version with subtitles.

I'm a huge fan of Danish films and of Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau. I'm slowly working my way through his movies (although I could have done without suffering The Gods of Egypt). The man can act. He's also got amazing screen presence, and it's both those things that saves this rather slow film and turns it from interesting to mesmerising. It raises interesting moral dilemmas as well, makes you question "what would I do?". I did not see some of the twists coming, so that added to the enjoyment. If you're very into American movies, or like a lot of action in your films then this probably isn't for you. But if you enjoy superb acting, tense and occasionally heart-rending storytelling then I think you'd enjoy this. It's a must for NC-W fans.

Suzanne Bier's A Second Chance is an emotionally complex expansion of the buddy cop genre. Buried in the rich psychological texture of the four main characters remains the classic whodunit. Who killed baby Alexander?Hero Andreas is a unique film cop because he's so open to his emotions, both as he caresses his lovely wife Anna and as he's dedicated instantly to the infants, the psychotic druggie's beshat waif as well as the cop's own helpless son. This cop dotes on babies. Andreas is a man strong enough to show his feelings, which of course prompts the irate Tristan to call him "faggot."It's hard to recall another film hero, especially in the crime genre, who shows such tenderness to babies and women. This softness leads Andreas over the line into his own irrational action: swapping his dead son for the druggies' neglected one, to give that kid a second chance.Andreas's motive is not entirely generous. Through that swap, his hysterical wife Anna would also get a second chance to be a parent, as he will as a father. Instead she gets a second chance to lose control. The new baby doesn't keep her from the suicide she threatened if Andreas were to call the ambulance to take away their Alexander, however dead. At risk of sounding clinical, both Anna and Tristan's Sanne have forms of postpartum depression. Sanne's life is further complicated by Tristan's violence that forces her to neglect their son Sofus. Paradoxically, the downtrodden Sanne proves a better mother than the rich and classy Anna. In a brief scene Anna's mother reveals an intense sunken rage at her husband's rejection of their daughter, presumably for marrying down to a cop. One central theme is the power of male authority and its maddening effect on women. With his remarkable sensitivity, though, Andreas experiences a grief and disorientation as profound as his wife's. Hence his plan to swap babies, fine for Sofus's second chance but an unwarranted cruelty to Sanne.Simon, Andreas's partner in crime-fighting, is typically his opposite. The bad cop and the good cup switch roles. When Andreas is initially stable and ethical, Simon is a basket case, drunken and belligerent, living a bum's life since his wife left him, taking their son. As Andreas goes to pieces Simon recovers his character, self-respect and discipline. He even tidies his flat. He deduces Andreas's secret and leads him to return Sofus to Sanne, confess his crime, take his punishment and start a new life, however smaller. The drunken Simon and maddened Andreas prove as hysterical as the women. The happy ending completes the theme of justice and proper compassion. We share the busted Andreas's satisfaction when he glimpses a clearly rehabilitated, stable Sanne and meets the bright young Sofus. The once helpless infant has a hammer now and his mom is buying screws. Andreas had to abandon his plan and his career to give Sofus and Sanne a true second chance.This buddy cop film is less about law and order than the pain of emotional commitment and vulnerability.

If you've seen Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau in Game of Thrones you haven't seen anything. As an actor this guy is, IMO, totally underrated. Also, Nikolaj Lie Kaas does a superb job.The movie centers around two guys (played by the both before mentioned actors), both fathers of new-borns. One is a cop, the other a junkie.I will not go into the details of the story, otherwise it might ruin the fun. But it revolves around those two toddlers, Alexander and Sofus. The story has some devious twists and turns and the conclusions is rather disturbing. However, the acting is, across the board, neigh perfect. The emotions and the desperation flow freely. I was rather impressed. I highly recommend a subbed version, since in this case a dubbing will ruin a lot. I tired it, but I liked the subbed version much more.It is rather astonishing how the Scandinavian movie makers manage to forge such good movies, while others (I am not looking at anyone ;) ) just manage to produce part IV of the same stuff, being afraid of anything slightly new. Let's do another romantic comedy, why don't you?Tired of SFX powered no-story junk? The next installment of a funny romance that has nothing to do with reality? Don't wanna see another superhero beating up hapless citizens?If you at least said one "yes", go watch this - NOW!