Agent Hamilton 2 - On a Personal Mission - DVD

Content: Agent Hamilton (Mikael Persbrandt) is back. After carrying out his first mission on behalf of the nation, this time the Swedish secret agent is on a personal mission. After Hamilton is able to prevent an assassination with the help of his colleague and good friend Ewa (Frida Hallgren), Ewa finds herself in the crosshairs of the masterminds. When her daughter Nathalie (Nadja Christiansson) is kidnapped, the police initially believe that her ex-husband, a former foreign legionnaire, is behind it. But in reality, Hamilton's goddaughter has been kidnapped by a powerful oil billionaire from Saudi Arabia. He doesn't want to hold her for ransom. He wants to re-educate the girl to become a devout Muslim and thus turn her against her mother and against her country. The desperate Ewa can hardly expect help from the Swedish authorities, as they are dependent on the oil supplies of the alleged kidnapper. And so Hamilton must set out on his own to free little Natalie from her prison in the desert. With the help of Ewa's ex-husband and a few companions in arms, the secret agent takes up the fight with an opponent who seems to be superior not only in numbers...

Agent Hamilton 2 is clearly different from its predecessor. If there fast-paced action was clearly in the foreground, it goes in the second part noticeably calmer to the point. Admittedly, there are also here some well-implemented duels and leaden action sequences. Still, in the end the whole thing is more of a thrilling kidnapping thriller and less thrilling agent action in James Bond style. That in itself is not negative, since the realization is visually absolutely successful and also Mikael Persbrandt again delivers a convincing performance. However, the expectations of such viewers who liked the first part precisely because of its pace and action could be disappointed, which then in turn leads to the fact that the quite existing qualities of the sequel are not really recognized.

After all, Agent Hamilton 2 also has quite independent of potentially false expectations some clear weaknesses that prevent the thriller can leave a lasting impression. For instance, the editing feels a bit rough here and there, and you get the feeling that the story has been trimmed down to 90 minutes at any cost. There are too many jumps and holes in the plot to be able to give a really round, coherent overall picture. In fact, especially the last third of the movie seems to be rushed, which also affects the tension. The actual rescue operation, which would have had the makings of an extremely exciting sequence, is ultimately almost ticked off in passing, leaving the viewer little time to really get carried away by the action.

Agent Hamilton 2 really isn't a bad thriller. Just the first few minutes reveal the great potential of the story and its main character, conceived by bestselling author Jan Guillou. If director Tobias Falk had taken a little more time to elaborate on certain aspects of the story, the film would have been fully convincing not only visually and could have competed with similar international productions. Thus, this second film adaptation of the successful Hamilton novels still offers decent entertainment, but falls well short of its potential, especially towards the end. Therefore, if you are looking for a thrilling kidnapping thriller and can overlook some dramaturgical weaknesses, Agent Hamilton 2 will certainly entertain you. But those who expect similar action as in part 1 or hope for a carefully worked out story will be rather disappointed. Nevertheless, due to the many positive aspects, there is still a decent: with deductions worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The film can visually easily keep up with major productions from Hollywood. And that's noticeable on the DVD as well. The picture is very clean, has a coherent color scheme and good overall sharpness that renders smaller details very well, especially in brighter scenes. Even though the film has less action to offer than its predecessor, there are still plenty of scenes that challenge the surround channels with well-executed sound effects. Good!

Extras: Unfortunately, apart from the trailer for the film and further program tips from the provider, the DVD has no bonus material to offer.

Conclusion: Agent Hamilton 2 is far less action-packed than its predecessor, but can score with a visually appealing production, an exciting story and a once again convincing Mikael Persbrandt. Despite some small logic holes and a sometimes too rushed production, a decent thriller that definitely makes you want more adventures of the Swedish secret agent. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp