The Killing 2 – Forbrydelsen II (2009)

Directed by: Kristoffer Nyholm, Charlotte Sieling, Hans Fabian Wullenweber | 550 minutes | drama, crime | Actors: Sofie GråbølNicolas Bro, Charlotte Guldberg, Preben Kristensen, Ken Vedsegaard, Mikael Birkkjaer, Stine Praetorius, Flemming Enevold, Morten Suurballe, Carsten Bjornlund, Lotte Andersen, Kurt Ravn, Tobias Krohn, Jens Jacob Tychsen, Igor Radosavljevic, Ole Lemmeke, Janus Nabil BakrawiPelle KoppelAnne Marie HelgerFinn NielsenLars Sidenius

Fans of the better detective will agree: a crime series of the caliber of ‘The Killing’ (better known in Denmark as ‘Forbrydelsen’) only comes along once in a while. Yet the concept was deceptively simple. A beautiful young girl is murdered, a local politician is suspected of involvement and a policewoman bites into the case. It’s her last before she goes abroad, and to make matters worse, she’s also saddled with a partner she can’t stand. Apparently nothing new under the sun, but ‘The Killing’ was devilishly clever and managed to mislead you so often that you would prefer to watch all twenty episodes in one go. The makers also thought that tasted like more, so a follow-up series appeared in 2009. ‘The Killing 2’ has ten episodes, with the same policewoman, a new partner and a new murder case. A case that is again expertly portrayed this time, but still appeals to the imagination slightly less than the murder of Nanna Birk Larsen from the original series.

The makers of ‘The Killing 2′ chose an approach that is often used in sequels: bigger, faster, more. That’s why police officer Sarah Lund is this time asked for assistance on a case of national importance, she travels to Sweden and Afghanistan for her research, crosses swords with the Danish army command, explodes some explosives here and there and is not a mayoral candidate but a minister who plays a key role. ‘The Killing 2′ therefore has more momentum, but lacks the intimacy that made the original so special. The death of Nanna Birk Larsen hit the viewers. Rarely has the tragedy of a stolen life been portrayed with such integrity and it became so painfully clear how drastic a murder can be for all involved. Not only for the grieving parents, but also for the police officers who throw themselves into the case at the expense of the home front and the many possible suspects who are looked at by everyone after interrogation. All these secondary plot lines were beautifully interwoven with the main plot in part 1 and at least as fascinating as the search for the culprit.

In ‘The Killing 2′ there are more murders, with a higher torture content, but the aftermath remains largely out of the picture. That’s why they hit you less. There are also the necessary improbabilities in the plot and the choices of the characters are sometimes less believable. Lund already went far in series 1 to unmask the perpetrator, in series 2 she uses very irresponsible methods. The screenwriters have pushed the character’s drive so hard this time that it is purely thanks to Sofie Gråbøl that Lund is still a woman of flesh and blood and not a Scandinavian Robocøp. Fortunately, ‘The Killing 2’ contains plenty of tried-and-true ingredients in addition to minor flaws. You can enjoy a murder mystery with surprising twists, high-level political intrigue, atmospheric music, good camera work and excellent acting from the entire cast. An honorable mention goes to Nicolas Bro, who, as a quirky, chocolate-addicted Justice Minister, provides comic relief in an otherwise rather grim tale of war abuses. ‘The Killing’ is and remains of solitary quality, but ‘The Killing 2’ is a close second.