The Last Viking: (Danish: Den sidste viking) - A Quirky Crime Comedy That Becomes Something More
Genre: Black Comedy / Crime / Drama | Country: Denmark | Released: October 9, 2025 (Denmark), May 29, 2026 (US)
7/19/20263 min read
The Last Viking begins in a way that feels almost impossible to predict. The film opens with an animated Viking tale about a chieftain who believes his clan is happiest when everyone is equal. When his youngest son loses an arm and becomes unhappy because he feels different from everyone else, the chieftain chooses a bizarre solution: he orders the entire clan to lose an arm too. It is a strange and unsettling fairy-tale opening for a Danish crime comedy, and the film does not immediately explain why this story matters. But as the movie unfolds, that unusual beginning slowly reveals itself as the key to everything.
The actual story is much more grounded. Anker is released from prison after fifteen years and returns to find the money from an old robbery. Before his arrest, he trusted his brother Manfred to hide the fortune and keep it safe. The problem is that Manfred no longer remembers where the money is—or even who he really is.
Manfred has developed a dissociative disorder and now believes he is John Lennon. What begins as a strange joke quickly becomes something much more interesting. The film fully commits to his unusual reality, creating increasingly absurd situations around his belief, including a growing connection to the world of The Beatles. Instead of using the idea as a simple comedy setup, director Anders Thomas Jensen explores what happens when a person's identity becomes something fragile and complicated.
At its heart, The Last Viking is not really a story about stolen money. It is about two brothers who are forced back into each other's lives and must confront a difficult shared past. Anker is impatient, angry, and focused on recovering what he lost. Manfred is living inside a version of himself that others cannot understand. Their journey becomes less about solving a crime and more about understanding each other.
This is the sixth collaboration between writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen and Mads Mikkelsen, a partnership that has produced some of Denmark's most memorable films. After serious roles in films like The Promised Land and the emotional revenge drama Riders of Justice, Mikkelsen takes on one of his most unusual performances here. Manfred is not a typical dramatic character or a traditional comic role. He is someone who has lost his connection with reality, and Mikkelsen brings surprising warmth and vulnerability to the part.
Nikolaj Lie Kaas provides a strong balance as Anker, creating a character who initially appears to be only motivated by anger and greed but slowly reveals deeper emotions. Their relationship gives the film its emotional foundation.
The supporting cast also includes familiar faces from Danish television. Sofie Gråbøl, known internationally for her role as detective Sarah Lund in The Killing, plays the brothers' sister Margrethe, while Søren Malling, who also appeared in that series, joins her. Their presence adds another layer of familiarity for fans of Danish drama.
Like many Anders Thomas Jensen films, The Last Viking moves between very different tones. It can be extremely funny one moment and surprisingly dark the next. The comedy comes from the strange situations and unusual personalities, but the film never simply mocks its characters. Beneath the absurdity is a thoughtful exploration of trauma, identity, and the ways people create versions of themselves to survive difficult experiences.
The opening Viking story becomes especially meaningful because it raises an important question: should people be forced to become the same just because differences make others uncomfortable? The film suggests that accepting someone means accepting the parts of them that may not make immediate sense.
The movie's unusual tone may not work for everyone. Viewers expecting a straightforward crime comedy may find its shifts between humor, emotion, and violence surprising. It also does not have the same tight balance as some of Jensen and Mikkelsen's earlier collaborations. However, its strange choices are also what make it memorable. Rather than repeating familiar formulas, the film creates something more unpredictable and personal.
Why Watch It?
Because The Last Viking is unlike most crime comedies you will see. It combines a quirky and unpredictable plot with dark humor, emotional drama, and elements of a road trip adventure. The biggest reason to watch it is Mads Mikkelsen's unique performance. Cast completely against type, he plays one of the strangest and most vulnerable characters of his career, showing a very different side from the intense and serious roles he is usually known for. With its unusual characters, unexpected humor, and surprising story about family and identity, The Last Viking embraces its weirdness and turns it into something moving.