Although Mads Mikkelson was a great villain in the 2006 James Bond re-boot “Casino Royale,” the film really didn’t allow the actor to show off his skills. For the most part, he relied on looks and a mechanism that allowed him to appear to cry blood, which was great for the part but didn’t allow the viewer to see much depth or range from him.

In “The Green Butchers” though, Mikkelson gets to use pretty much every talent he possess. He plays the quirky Svend, a down-on-his-luck, low-level employee of a butcher who decides to stick it to his boss by opening his own shop. He needs a partner in crime to make it all work however, and that comes in the form of the ghoulish-looking Bjarne, played by Nikolaj Lie Kaas.

The two are perfect for each other, with Bjarne being dark and charismatic while Svend is just flat out goofy and lacks confidence. It sets up a sort of “Odd Couple” type of thing set in a butcher shop, which perhaps sounds like it would be disgusting but is, interestingly enough, entertaining to watch.

The humor throughout the film is what keeps it afloat. Although numerous sight gags are present, most of the film relies on subtle humor of lines and other occurrences going on with the characters behind their backs. Plus it doesn’t use “meatball” and “wiener” jokes, which was nice to see. And when Svend begins to use humans in his butcher shop in order to make his meat taste better, well, all bets are off.

The film, though, also mixes in nice touches of human emotion to make it really worth watching. As funny as it is, none of it would work if the two main characters didn’t have their flaws and didn’t work so well together. But the two are so appealing and give off such a neighborly feel that once they start doing questionable things, it is hard to fault them for it. And even when they do some pretty grotesque things, ultimately the hope is that they don’t get caught.

The set up and plot for the film is not original, but the actors make it their own. Perhaps no movie involving murder for financial gain has been this appealing or funny, and with that, it should stand as a testament to the ability of those involved in the movie. The direction is perfect, with everything timed perfectly enough to truly make an entertaining but also memorable movie.

– Scott Hansen