Gidseltagningen (2017–2019) User Reviews

Below the Surface

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 8 April 2018]

This Danish thriller opens with three terrorists seizing a train on the Copenhagen underground; once stopped they remove fifteen passengers and take them to a new station that is under construction. They later demand a ransom. The police are mobilised but the task of saving the hostages won't be easy; the tunnels approaching station have been booby-trapped and the hostage takers appear to be military trained and well-armed. The police are led by Philip Nørgaard, a former soldier with an understanding of hostage situations... he was held hostage after being captured in Afghanistan. Something the lead terrorist says leads Philip to suggest the he is the man who held him even though authorities insist he was killed. With the state refusing to pay the hostages make contact with journalist Naja Toft, who starts a fun raising effort. Over the next eight days tensions rise and tragedies occur before the terrorists are finally identified and the final confrontation takes place.

Things start well with the taking of the hostages then continue impressively as we get to know the hostages and police. All we know about the hostage takers is that they speak accented English and have proper military training. Things do get a bit melodramatic towards the end as we learn who the terrorists are and why they are doing it but by then the pace has picked up so it isn't too hard to overlook this. The underground location creates a good claustrophobic atmosphere and provides a good excuse to keep the drama going for eight days. The hostages are a good cross section of society with some interesting characters among them. The cast does an impressive job making the story believable; most obviously Johannes Lassen, who plays Philip Nørgaard. Overall I'd say that while this might not be the best Nordic import it is still well worth watching.

These comments are based on watching the episode in Danish with English subtitles.

What lies hidden . . .

[galah2 · 8/10 · 8 August 2017]

Some of the plot architecture from The Killing is in place. The title is the way in. What is hidden. Defence Chiefs with "whatever it takes" mindsets will sacrifice their men.

Below the surface of each of the hostages lives was a secret prised out by the drama and very original too: a devoted nurse who went blank, a hippy grandmother who cost her grandson his life; a diabetic, a karate teacher on the brutal edges of Danish society.

We are not looking after our vets, who haunt the streets with PTSD.

Nothing is simple. how many of us were ready to believe the hostage takers were radical Muslims.

Good show if you stick with it. and what a pleasure is the cinematography

Another solid Danish drama series

[BeneCumb · 8/10 · 19 August 2018]

As an admirer of various thrilling series, Denmark is definitely one of the countries which related production I follow as much as possible. So I was glad again when I heard about Gidseltagningen - and again, I can say I am contented.

True, it is no Bron/Broen, but its realistic plot (suitable for modern world with its hostage dramas), depiction of decision-making in a democratic country (when comprehensiveness brings about tardiness in harsh situations), not strained characters and performances (particularly supporting ones, e.g. Paprika Steen, Alba August, Dar Salim) make this series interesting to watch. Well, the real reasons behind could have been different, more sophisticated, but then it could have diminished its plausibility perhaps. We have to bear in mind that Gidseltagningen is no American or Asian series, after all, and anti-war mentality and topical mood were so maintained.

All in all, 8 strong points from me, and you are welcome to watch, unless you dislike strong military presence and prefer works with good and bad distinctively marked.

PS Season 2, with events on and around a ferry, is not weaker, and Season 3 is not excluded - with reference to the ending scenes... The only issue is that as the Danes tend to benefit from same film actors, one can easily guess who might die in the middle and who definitely not :)

plot holes galore

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 14 May 2018]

Well-acted Danish crime series about a chilling theme which, tragically enough, has become quite plausible. There's a lot of suspense, thanks to a few truly ingenious surprise twists.

All of this sounds nice enough, but sadly the plot is as holed as a pair of old shoes. To quote but one example : the hostage takers speak English, consistently. It is pretty clear, from the beginning, that it might be a good idea to make an educated guess about the geographical origins of the hostage takers, in order to study their motives and belief systems. As a result it might be a good idea to examine the said English - is it the English of people raised in Nigeria, France, Saudi Arabia, China ? Or is the answer to be found much closer to home ? Strangely enough, no one tries his hand at this kind of exercice - and it's not as if Denmark, one of the best educated countries on Earth, lacks linguists, university professors, English teachers, interpreters, speech therapists, ambassadors, cosmopolitan travellers, and so on. While we're at it, Denmark is not exactly short of refugees and immigrants either.

Finally I was bemused by the underlying message. Am I right in saying, that the series is actually pleading in favour of the payment of ransom in exchange for soldiers captured by an enemy ? In wartime ? In this case I can only say that this is a very very very very stupid idea. The makers of the series deserve to be put in front of a blackboard. Here, for punishment, write us a hundred lines of "Pecunia nervus belli". Or, if one likes to remain within Latin proverbs 101 : "Experientia magistra stultorum" would do as well. ("The wise are able to predict negative effects, while the stupid only learn when the problem bites them in the ass".)

Could not stop watching

[Peter-1480 · 9/10 · 27 July 2017]

Contrary to another review here I did not find the story line to be long or boring - There are some many factors running at the same time so I literally could not stop watching it and ended up watching the entire series in one session (long session). Thanks to a, in my opinion, good plot, and with an ever changing aspect of who and what which keeps you guessing until almost the end. I think the signal or message the series is trying to send is a fair bit different to the one the other reviewer has gotten and I think it again takes up the baton in bringing the ugly face of PTSD up again, something which is very much needed and cannot be done enough. I will not say too much here as I think people should watch the series themselves - but I thought it was rather great.

thriller - 15 people held hostage in a metro tunnel in Copenhagen

[scaifegibson · 7/10 · 2 September 2017]

This is actually a reaction to somebody who wrote a review saying that after 5 episodes you start to scream at stuff which doesn't really figure... For me this already happened after the 1st two episodes. The fact that the police team is being led by somebody who has recently escaped after being held captive and tortured by terrorists begs belief. Also a news anchor is allowed to continue to contact the terrorists and raise ransom money via her blog without any interference or control by the police... there is a lot more which doesn't figure. Despite this, the 1st two episodes broadcast on Belgian TV were entertaining. Maybe some of these issues will turn out to be different in the coming episodes. Still, I doubt will be watching them when they are broadcast next week.

Striking

[rlbdoc · 9/10 · 12 February 2021]

Great micro-environment setting. Jumps into the action quickly and draws out well over the episodes to an intense conclusion. Takes time to personalize the hostages viewpoints. Closes with a moral issue.

Too long and bad script

[Kaiketi · 21 June 2017]

CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Too long, mostly full of unnecessary and sometimes even horribly jarring and badly acted back stories of several characters that start to annoy very quickly. Also, as the story progress, more and more stupidities of the script starts to annoy and eats the credibility, eventually making the watching of the story unfold painful. I could list major idiotic things but I value my time more.

Last, the political message it gives, or rather pounds it in, I don't like it at all. That giving money to terrorist kidnappers is OK. Shame on the propaganda.

Rather poor series, too long and weak script. 3 stars.

Average Thriller

[wentworthstreet · 6/10 · 15 April 2018]

It's pretty obvious from the outset that Philip is hiding something about his past and, boy, do they milk it! I also thought it a great shame that Louise wasn't given more to do. Sadly, her character was rather sidelined and her main purpose seemed to be throwing concerned looks in Philip's direction on a regular basis. As Louise was clearly the smartest person in the room, it is depressing that she was marginalised into the role of female love interest - how uninspired.

And, of course, the female reporter was so dim that she jumped into bed with one of the 'relatives' who was quite clearly working for the hostage takers as their fourth man on the outside.

Finally, it is revealed how Mark (Alpha) and Philip are connected. However, unless I missed something, it remains unclear how Bravo and Charlie fit into the picture. Who are they? How and why were they recruited by Alpha? What did they hope to get out of taking hostages when the ransom was purely intended to get Jim released? They certainly did not seem to be the altruistic types! At least we found out Sammy's role at the end.

On the plus side, I thought the detective duo of SP and Simon had great potential and I also thought Jakob Oftebro did a great job as Mark (Alpha). The actors portraying the hostages were also believable, even if some had rather cliché back stories.

The Bridge and The Killing have set the bar extremely high. Below the Surface is not in their league, but it is not terrible either.

Season one good season two brilliant

[peterrichboy · 9/10 · 12 August 2019]

Whilst I enjoyed season one of "Beneath the surface". But it was a bit slow and predictable. Season two on the other hand feels like a Danish version of Die Hard! It,s pretty much non stop action from the word go when a group of Syrian terrorists overtake a Danish car ferry. With our hero from season one just making it on board. Yes I know totally implausible but if you can put that aside and forget the plot holes, you have a really entertaining edge of the seat thriller. Not so much beneath the surface but drama on water! 9/10

The Truth Will Come Out

[dncorp · 6/10 · 24 August 2017]

This TV Series is like The Rock 1996 in that what at first appears to be "Terrorists" actually have a Main Goal of exposing the Truth.

"The Hero" is not really a Hero, only made into a Hero for the Danish Government's convenience, to hide the Truth.

Below the Surface 2017 Seriously addresses the Results of most Governments response to Random Demands, and Policy of No Negotiations with Terrorists. And how the average Citizens are "sacrificed" for "the Greater Good" (mostly by those than have little to personally lose and are in Power).

There have been other Movies that one wonders how they will get away, like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974, remakes The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1998, The Taking of Pelham 123 2009.

This TV Series has lots of "Character Development" many will say too much and not enough Action.

ON THE SURFACE S2 AS GOOD AS S1

[MadamWarden · 9/10 · 4 May 2020]

This is a great series. S1 was excellent and S2 even better IMHO.

Action aplenty, solid acting and an intriguing plot full of twists. Always nice to have fallible heroes.

The only annoyance are the love struck flashbacks. 🙄

Definitely worth binging!!

Bit long winded & silly but OK

[daggersineyes · 5/10 · 30 July 2017]

I liked the first couple of episodes, looked like it was going to be a great taut suspense thriller but after about episode 5 I was starting to yell at the screen over some of the actions/behaviour/decisions being made by the characters . And the Police seem to do nothing but sit around having dramatic moments, arguing & eating pizza. I mean, surely Denmark has better cops than this? They are excruciatingly useless. I'll stick with it for now but honestly they better do something POLICE-like soon or I will give up on the show completely. Nothing much makes sense at this stage either. I'm hoping there's a point to all this somewhere coz the ransom is way too small to be their main aim. Anyway - watch it, you might enjoy it and it's not terrible but there are some niggling issues here.

Brilliant

[mnjonman · 10/10 · 15 March 2021]

I can only think of one word to describe this show. Intense. The show was believable. There were errors made on both sides. It wasn't the perfect solution to a bad situation. There was no pushing of political agenda. No single hero. Just pure entertainment. So refreshing. Highly recommend it.

Just one area of real weakness, otherwise a GREAT drama

[pjp88029 · 9/10 · 15 January 2020]

15.Jan, 2020: Fantastic, gripping 8 episodes series, 45 minutes each, Totally Binge-Worthy, currently available with a HULU basic subscription. Especially if you LOVE dramas with deep, complex character development, and twists you never would have guessed. Excellent Acting by all of the cast, but especially by Paprika Steen, as an investigative journalist. No Tenth Star due to 'muddy' editing and storyline flow with the past and present scenes of so many of the actors; a Tenth star would have been given if Dates Text boxes had been inserted with the jumping back and forth.

Amazing!!

[amanchdhry · 9/10 · 9 April 2018]

Watched it on BBC iPlayer, saw the whole season in two days. Love Danish tv shows but this is an exception, full of curiosity & compassion! Well done to all the actors.

Very exciting!! And realistic!!

[Guanche48 · 8/10 · 24 February 2020]

I just watch the 1st season. And I am certainly going to watch the 2nd as well. Very real story, good written and good acting. Once u start you can't stop it!!! Don't understand the negative revieuws.

Not plausible

[paul2001sw-1 · 5/10 · 24 April 2018]

'Below the Surface' is a Danish drama based on the premise that a group of terrorists sieze a group of hostages on the underground. That premise is interesting (and sadly all too plausible), but its development is not. We're introduced to the (basically irrelevent) backstory of each of the hostages; there's a depressingly unimaginative portrayal of a rogue journalist; while the hero is the master negotiator who (rather ridiculously) turns out to be the terrorists' primary target. His main action as negotiator is to persuade the hostages not to try and free themselves, supposedly in their own interests, but there's something absurd that when the hostages finally break free, the man charged with negotiating their freedom pleads with them to return to their cage! Overall, there's not much to see here, aside from some by-the-numbers drama; and there are certainly better examples of Scandi-noir.

Amazing, Couldn't Stop Watching

[rachaelcollinson · 10/10 · 11 April 2018]

I started watching this out of curiosity and after the first episode i binge watched the following 7 on BBC I Player. I think that from a technical point of view the producer has captured this perfectly, and i think the actors portray the roles they play as if it was real life. I wasn't expecting the ending but never the less it captured my heart and in the end i cried at the ending. Cant wait for season 2 (if there is one)

Danish Drama

[mbazhome · 10/10 · 18 September 2020]

Gets better and better. Thoroughly enjoyed season 1 and season 2 is even more exciting. This show reminds me of 24, with the Danish version of Kiefer Sutherland in the lead role. Well done!

A top quality TV show

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 16 May 2018]

I hope that this terrific TV series will be widely shown in France one of these days; after all, it was produced by Studio Canal. I won't talk of the qualities of this show, the other comments have already done it. But thta's the first time in hostage films history that I see hostage takers wait for FOUR or EIGHT days to get the ransom they asked for. The really FIRST damn time. Four hours would have been more believable. That's my own opinion. I really loved the Iraki descent character, whom I have already seen in another Dannish crime movie - DARKLAND - which I commented. His character is here so moving, and SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS I did not expect him to die so soon. The hostage scheme is perfect for a TV show, especially when it comes to focus on hostages and takers personnalities. See CASE DE PAPEL or this other series which I also commented last year, and showing Irak vets pulling a bank robbery - KILLPOINT.

exceptionally good!

[robvanzwieten · 10/10 · 29 December 2019]

The first season is about a metro hijack. Every day in the series is assembled in 1 episode. The second season is about a lady who is a resistance fighter and has made a movie that seems to be of great value. Eventually she is abducted in the car and then on a boat. The entire hostage takes 36 to 48 hours and these have been included in multiple episodes. It is an extremely good serie!

Poor script and an unbelievable plot.

[drnotout · 2/10 · 9 April 2018]

Well, what a waste of time that series was. Absolutely incredible plot lines and totally unbelievable characterisations. I tried to hang onto the plot, but it just didn't work. For example, a small group of terrorists (a noun that the BBC would never allowed to be used) get holed up in an underground space that has a lift shaft providing direct access. Yet none of bumbling police ever consider using gas to subdue the protagonists and thus facilitate a rescue - oh no, that would never do. The ending was the true low point of this disappointing drama with the only winners being the other distant terrorists.

BBC4 has subjected us to some real stinkers in the Saturday evening drama slot recently and I'm not sure there is any light at the end of this particular tunnel. By complete contrast, I confidently predict that the upcoming fourth series of Michael Connelly's Bosch on Amazon will make up these Scandinavian deficiencies.

Captivating, however...

[ienjoyent3rtainmnt · 22 June 2020]

I almost gave this series a 9. Solid Character development. Absolute investment in the show. Suspenseful. Riveting. Full of twists I didn't see coming. Including the reason behind the hostage.

And comes the big but...two of them actually.

No restitution for Mark and Jim. My heart sunk. The closeout of season 1 was massively disappointing. I woulda dropped my score down to a 6. I didn't because for the entire season, I wanted to see the show through. As an entertaining thriller with wonderful writing and great acting, this show has it.

As a POC, I was offended by the "hippie nonsense" remark about Dreamcatchers made by the arrogant smug white guy. Wow. Typical white ignorance and disregard for a legitimate Native American tradition by flippantly calling it something hippie. Don't get me started on the white supremacy and racism run in this series.

Fast paced thriller!

[ikanboy · 9/10 · 13 July 2022]

The pace is so fast that one doesn't have time to let the brain catch up on suspending disbelief. The only problem is that in a movie it works better than in a series. Still it throws in so many curves and fastballs that I just said "Heck, I'll relax and enjoy." The main problem is that when the bad guys speak it's in English and they provide no captions for the hard of hearing.