‎Headhunters (2011) directed by Morten Tyldum • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Headhunters

2011 ‘Hodejegerne’ Directed by Morten Tyldum

The hunt is on.

An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary..

Aksel Hennie Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Synnøve Macody Lund Julie R. Ølgaard Eivind Sander Baard Owe Kyrre Haugen Sydness Reidar Sørensen Nils Jørgen Kaalstad Joachim Rafaelsen Mats Mogeland Gunnar Skramstad Johnsen Lars Skramstad Johnsen Signe Tynning Nils Gunnar Lie Sondre Abel Mattis Herman Nyquist

100 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Adam Cook ★★★★ 23

It has been a while since I’ve watched such an entertaining and taut thriller as Headhunters. Scandinavian crime dramas are incredibly popular at the moment but this is arguably one of the better recent examples, and whilst it may feature the familiar amoral characters and extreme violence that has characterised films from the region there is a pleasing deftness to the story. The plot centers on a successful headhunter who, moonlighting as a thief, steals valuable art work to finance his lavish lifestyle. However, a chance introduction with a potential target gets him in way over his head and soon he is on the run from everybody he knows.

What makes this film such a joy is its relentless pace…
Review by DirkH ★★★★½ 8

yes, Yes, YES!!!

Now, this is what I'm talking about! It is difficult to come up with a truly original plot for a thriller and Headhunters doesn't have the most original premise, but it's execution betrays a creativity that I haven't seen in this genre in a long, long while.

There is the inevitable point in a film of this type where the main character has to be taken out of his comfort zone in order to create momentum and to create the thrills a film like this relies on. And boy is poor Roger Brown taken out of his comfort zone. The shitstorm that descends on him is one of biblical proportions.

Without getting into the plot it suffices…
Review by Silent J ★★★★★ 13

Usually, when a film has a tone that's all over the place, it can take me out of the film entirely. Not with Headhunters. For this film, the film uses it's tone and audiences expectations to it's advantage to make room for plenty of twists and turns. It starts out as a serious, straightforward crime drama and then as the plot thickens, it transitions into something more gory, bizarre, and even darkly funny. It kept me on the edge of my seat not only wanting more but guessing what would happen next. That's just one of the reasons why I loved this film. It's also well acted, well directed, superbly written, and exciting from beginning to end. It's loads of fun and one of my favorite films that 2012 has to offer.

If you love films filled with unpredictable twists that keep you guessing, laughing, and surprised on the edge of your seat, this is a must see.
Review by Mr. DuLac ★★★★ 6

For someone like me, to get what he wants, only one thing matters: Money. A lot of money.
-Roger Brown

The only thing I really knew about Headhunters is that, on average, it had a high rating from Letterboxd users. I didn't watch the trailer, didn't read any reviews, didn't even check it's freshness on RottenTomatoes. This Norwegian film, that I had never heard of outside of Letterboxd, turned out to be one of the best thrillers of 2012.

The plot of the film exists just outside of reality, but is still quite close to it. Unless crazy situations like this are a common occurrence in Norway, if so then i stand corrected. In the first act of the film…
Review by AJ Black ★★★★ 5

The highest grossing Norwegian film of all time, Headhunters marked out Morten Tyldum as a sharp-eyed director to watch, adapting as he does Jo Nesbo's celebrated crime thriller and fashioning from it a highly entertaining, frequently sparky piece of Scandinavian noir that stands uniquely alone in the annals of the crime thriller. A deep rooted vein of twisted black comedy resides within Tyldum's film, which takes Aksel Hennie's opportunistic corporate headhunter on a visceral, dangerous ride into a story of murder, betrayal and conspiracy, yet does so with remarkable chutzpah - even managing to balance some truly bonkers black comedy thriller sequences with a through line of dramatic discovery, something not many pictures can boast about not just getting away…
Review by Larry ★★★★ 8

Ohhh Jaime Lannister... You are one smooth SOB when talking in your native tongue. You are one of the coolest, most suave villains I've seen in a while.

And Headhunters perfectly accentuates Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's brilliant performance.

This taut Norwegian thriller is an unexpected punch to gut in the form of explosive violence, genuine suspense, and cool characters. It's an extremely well made movie and looking back, I'd probably say it was one of the best of last year.

The film is heavy on exposition and characterization, and this is something that pays off in the long run. The characters are all relatable in their own ways, and I found myself to be personally pulled a couple different ways. It's a…

Recent reviews

Review by Dennis Sawyer ★★★½

For the most part pretty cleaver, while being high on fun.
Review by eggsy ★★★

A pretty entertaining and intense thriller. I thought it started off really strong but the ending was slightly underwhelming.
Review by tomlawson ★★★★ 1

An intense and unpredictable thriller that somehow only cost me 50p to buy on Blu-ray.
Review by euro ★★★

Guter Film, keine Frage. Die Atmosphäre passte, die Schauspieler waren gut, die Handlung war im Prinzip auch okay, auch wenn sie jetzt nicht wirklich glaubwürdig war. Allerdings war das nicht unbedingt der Film, den ich heute Abend sehe wollte. Wollte eigentlich was düsteres und richtig spannendes sehen, so wie Verblendung halt. Der Film hier hat aber jede Menge Schwarzen Humor, kann durchaus sein, dass das nicht jedermanns Sache ist. Für nen Blindkauf gebraucht 3 Euro hat sich der Streifen aber auf jeden Fall gelohnt. Nur sollte man sich vorher wenigstens ein bißchen über die Filme informieren, die man sich ansieht
Review by Jack Logan ★★★★

The way it presents itself is fairly obnoxious, bookending itself with some matter-of-fact narration and some similarly unnecessary music in moments of extreme emotional anguish. But this is otherwise a brilliant thriller, not letting up for the entirety of its 100 minute runtime. Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the standout, his compelling and intimidating performance making you believe in not only the menace of his character, but also what they’re capable of. Aksel Heddie, on the other hand, drives the film as the small-time criminal protagonist who, as small-time criminals so often do, realises he’s crossed the wrong people. The protagonist’s motivations not only show the depths that seemingly ordinary people will go to survive, but also the threat of the fragility of masculinity, and the toxic effect it has on male decision-making.
Review by Matthew Noble ★★★★

"Sounds like something from a movie."

A sufficiently slick Norwegian crime picture, Headhunters' first act seems to tease an art heist plotline, but it quickly turns into a very violent thriller instead, almost akin in tone to Blue Ruin. Not that I'm complaining, because it pulls that deviation off deftly. So if you have a hankering to see a Christopher Walken lookalike be terrorised by the blonde guy from Game of Thrones, then this film is definitely for you. Just be prepared to see some sick stuff along the way.
Review by RigelDC ★★★★

Once again, Scandanavia demonstrates their superiority at contemporary thrillers over the rest of Europe. "Headhunters" features a top-talent recruiter who moonlights as an art thief to bankroll his opulent lifestyle, until he burgles a masterpiece from the wrong collector. Pacing, dialogue (subtitled), and suspense rank right up there with the top American and Norwegian films of its class, such as Stieg Larsson's "Millenium" trilogy to which this pays several tributes. The mayhem can get intense and almost absurd, to the point that I didn't know if I should laugh as it felt like it was toeing the line of black comedy. Intricately twisty with a number of big reveals in stages, it nonetheless can get a bit too convoluted for…
Review by VICTOR P. S. ★★★½

1,68 de astucia, suerte y tenacidad .
De aquellos thrillers guardados no sabes porque y que una vez lo has visto te das cuenta de lo gilipollas que has sido.
Giros, violencia , actores ,todo funciona bien sin demasiados engaños.
Nordic noir es como un fondant de chocolate con nata, frío por fuera, negro en intenciones y fuego por dentro.
Review by YI JIAN ★★★★

Chekhov's pet: if a dog is introduced in the first act, then there should be a definite chance that in the following one it is either killed or harmed. I don't like these rules, but I'm also powerless to stop them.