Max Manus: Man of War

Though not without its moments, this latest tale of wartime derring-do rarely dares to enter uncharted territory in its episodic take on the military exploits of  Max Manus, a pivotal member of the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Norway. Pasty-faced Aksel Hennie plays Manus as an indefatigable, unambiguous (though likeable) action hero, happy to risk life and limb in the name of his homeland.

It’s the action sequences which leave the biggest impression, especially a nail-biting set piece in which Manus rows into a dockyard and attaches mines to two German ships. Yet too many of the connecting scenes are blemished by a reliance on hastily sketched side characters and opt for melodramatic glorification over a more nuanced exploration of Manus’s deeds. It also suffers in comparison to Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Soldier of Orange’ and Ole Christian Madsen’s recent ‘Flame and Citron’.