In Justice (aka, Napad), Michal Gazda proves himself to be a literal-minded movie director. His scenes don't have any trace of energy or life. He seems to be filming corpses. The movie deals with murders, police investigations, family drama, and a bank heist, but none of these elements are effectively brought to the surface. Right from the very first scene, we detect an atmosphere that's static and faux dramatic. Three women shiver and cry, and we notice their effort, their acting instead of worrying about their plight. This is the kind of opening that intends to immediately hook the audience. We are meant to wonder, "How did something like this happen?" But we are able to sense the filmmaker's desperation. It quickly becomes apparent that this scene has a shallow purpose and that there won't be any satisfying revelations. How? Call it an intuition developed over years of watching movies. Sometimes, it's easy to separate a hack from an artist.
The more time you spend in the company of Justice, the more it becomes clear that there is nothing interesting going on here. How much freshness or giddy delights can you expect from a film that begins with the recruitment of one of those retired/discharged officers who are excellent in their field? As Gadacz, Olaf Lubaszenko gives a very derivative, unexciting performance. His almost stoic and heavy face wants to convey that this is a man who is extremely hardworking and serious about his profession, though all we hear is that he is someone who has watched a lot of detective films and been influenced by them. All Gadacz has to do is solve a bank raid case within 14 days, and he will be welcomed back into the force as a deputy inspector. Will he be able to catch the culprits on time? Wrong question. Given that Gadacz works like a wannabe Sherlock Holmes, you can be sure that he will end up grabbing the right individuals.
The problem is that there is no pleasure in watching Gadacz solve this case. He just mechanically moves from one clue, suspect, or place to another clue, suspect, or place. He believes Kacper (Jedrzej Hycnar) is the main guy responsible for killing three women and stealing money from the bank. Kacper, of course, keeps iterating that he's innocent. This should have developed into an intriguing cat-and-mouse game, but Justice fails to deliver even in this respect. The point related to the heist and the murders is devoid of suspense. The identity of the culprits is not delivered as a big twist or a shocking revelation. It's just casually slipped into the narrative. When the actual incident - that opening scene - is shown to us later, we realize we didn't need this moment. It doesn't tell us anything new - we manage to figure out most of the details by ourselves. Hence, the scene merely comes across as a superficial trigger to push the buttons of the audience through violence.
Justice lacks focus. Its weak thriller elements are diluted by the unconvincing emotional drama of the characters. Kacper has a little sister who, we are told, means the world to him, though we never get to experience a sense of intimacy in this relationship. One of the men who took part in the crime isn't able to live with the guilt and decides to confess to the police officers. Such a heavy emotion is dropped into the movie carelessly with the motivation that the story requires some amount of tension. So, we watch as one person chases a bus to stop this character while the police officers wait for his arrival. If this sequence doesn't make you nervous, that's because it's shot impersonally, with the same old editing trick of swiftly cutting between worried faces. Then again, the whole movie is shot through an impersonal lens. Gazda simply goes through the motions. Perhaps he doesn't know the difference between being subtle and indifferent. Justice is so dull, so monotonous that you even forget that Gadacz's partner, Aleksandra (Wiktoria Gorodeckaja), is assigned the task of reporting Gadacz's every move to her superior officer. You don't care about anyone or anything in Justice. It's like a silent alarm that goes off in an empty room - no one hears, notices, or is affected by the noise.
Final Score- [3/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times