Black Crab had been around for a long time when I finally watched it a few weeks ago. It never caught my eye, but it always showed up on Netflix's catalogue, and so I figured, why not? And now, having gone through it, I'd totally recommend it to certain people.
I'll be honest and say that I wasn't interested in watching a film about some woman who is so invincible that the film would turn out to be overly unrealistic for me. And that was my impression of Black Crab. I had seen many like that, and many of them had only action and were very shallow in their storylines.
Apparently, the film turned out to be just alright. I found many things sensibly done and the plot to be rather original than something cliche like we often see in action films. And it had an interesting concept.
In a post-apocalyptic world, six soldiers on a covert mission must transport a mysterious package across a frozen archipelago. Source
Personally, I have a soft side for post-apocalyptic films. There's a whole lot of ideas that can be sprung up in an almost destroyed world. One thing that's usually common with these films is that they usually have a virus or something related in them. That's the same with this film, but it really wasn't about that, but a portrayal of what bonds we create with love for people can make us do.
The film starts strongly by introducing an idea that explains a lot of things in the film. We find a woman separated from her beloved daughter, who was the reason she did anything. Just like her, there were five other soldiers who had reasons to "keep going," although not as strong as hers.
Normally, you'd find shooting and fighting scenes to overshadow many other elements of action films. Even though such scenes may be entertaining, films make more sense to me when there is reasonable depth in the storyline to make it all the more enjoyable. And that was the angle they went with in this film.
Keeping in mind that it was going to get gruesome for most of the film, I felt allowed to savour the intricate nuances in the interactions between the soldiers, their environments, and situations. And then the whole shooting and fighting was like the cherry on top of the cake.
From start to finish, there were sprinkles of thrillers every now and then. The end goal was to deliver something very vital to secure victory in a war that was already being lost. If and how they would do that—not just on foot, skating on ice for thousands of kilometers behind enemy lines—kept me curious throughout the film.
At war, you really can't really trust people, not even yourself. And so we find in this film, displays of trustworthiness as well as betrayal. That made the film all the more intriguing to watch.
Something that I may not have really enjoyed was the idea that there was not much explained about the cause of the war, anything about the enemy, or what was to follow after the mission. Somehow, the mission's concept sufficed to make the film very entertaining.
They had a really small cast in this film. And the further you get into the film, that number reduces. Therefore, there was a lot of attention paid to the main characters. The film's success, as usual with all films, depended a lot on the performances of these main characters. Despite the film being a Swedish one, although I had watched with the English dub on, I liked just how invested the actors were in the film, particularly Noomi Rapace, the main character.
I didn't exactly enjoy how the film ended, though. I would have preferred a more befitting one, considering the basis of how it started. Its ending was totally understandable, however sad. Notwithstanding, the film was overall entertaining and enjoyable.
Considering how the film ended, I am certain that there will never be a sequel for it, unless the creators pull something crazy and tweak things. If there will ever be a sequel, I might as well indulge myself in yet another round of entertainment. Until then, I'll give this film a 7/10.
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All images are screenshots from the film
