This energetic Swedish crime drama centers on the title character, a hardboiled special operations cop who was introduced in a trilogy of films made between 1999-2003. In this compilation of six feature-length episodes from the 2009 first season, Johan Falk (Jakob Eklund) is back in his native Sweden after a long stint at Europol, where he made his bones with ruthless tactics and a keen mind for hunches. Now based in Gothenburg with a crack unit called GSI, his sights are set primarily on organized crime. Falk displays both a brutal hatred of supercriminals and a head-butting personal style with his commanders. He's also a family man who inevitably brings his work troubles home. Although most of the episodes are generically titled—“Special Operations Group,” “Brothers in Arms,” “National Target,” “Leo Gaut,” “Operation Nightingale,” and “The Outlawed”—the stories move fast, shifting from action and violence to thoughtful dialogue. A real plus here is the character of Frank Wagner, a conflicted informant played with sensitivity and verve by Joel Kinnaman (who shot to American fame as Detective Holder in The Killing); Kinnaman's nuanced scenes with Eklund and various criminal associates offer wonderful foreshadowings of what was to come for this gifted actor. While not exactly must-see-TV, Johan Falk is a serviceable entry into the international oeuvre of cop sagas. A strong optional purchase. (T. Fry)
Johan Falk: Season One
MHz, 3 discs, 564 min., in Swedish w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.95 Volume 30, Issue 1
Johan Falk: Season One
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