Black Crab (2021)

 

                “Black Crab” is a recent addition to the ever-expanding post-apocalypse genre.  It is a Swedish film entitled “Svart Krabba”.  There, now you know two words in Swedish.  It is an action thriller directed by Adam Berg.  Berg directed many commercials and music videos before he made his movie debut with this movie.

                Caroline Edh (Noomi Rapace) is separated from her daughter when soldiers attack cars stuck in a tunnel.  This was the beginning of a civil war.  Years later, Edh has joined the military to fight the other side.  It is unclear what the war is all about and which side is right.  We assume it is the side that Edh is fighting for.  She is a killer and a survivor who hopes to be reunited with her daughter.  Edh is tabbed for a secret mission called Operation Black Crab.  She and five heterogeneous soldiers must skate across a frozen water body to deliver some capsules to a base.  These capsules will win the war.  Edh, who has apparently seen movies like this back when people sat around watching movies, believes it is a suicide mission.  Oh, suppose we sweeten the pot by telling you that we will reunite you with your daughter?

                The six set off and if you think they’ll all make it, you have not seen any movies like this.  The only question is how many will survive.  One of them drowns almost immediately.  Edh jumps in to save the capsules.  And then there were five.  The unit consists of Caroline, an officer that she has a past with, a sniper, an Arab, and a weak link.  Naturally, the journey has obstacles, plus they are being chased.  Edh and her rapidly winnowed gang have to fight their way out of ambushes that include helicopter assaults.  In spite of all this, Edh has time to think about what’s in those capsules.  It’s a biological weapon that her side will use because they are losing and are desperate.  Edh still has some humanity in spite of it all, but she is focused on reuniting with her daughter.  If that falls through, watch out

                “Black Crab” relies a lot on Noomi Rapace.  She has become a major star by playing roles like this.  She often plays women who have a troubled past.  Those characters are morose, but they press on.  Edh has psychological problems which is not surprising since she lost her daughter and the world is falling apart.  The rest of the cast is adequate in stereotypical roles.  Like most suicide mission movies, the squad is a mixture of personalities and abilities.  The mission is typical of the subgenre.  They have to get something somewhere before something bad happens.  The tweak is putting the mission on ice.  Instead of a mine field, we get thin ice.  You don’t usually see an action hero on ice skates.  I wonder if the cast was told they would be skating.  None of the actors were proficient with skating before the production.

                “Black Crab” is an average action thriller.  It would be better if there actually was a black crab in it, but it’s entertaining enough as it is.  Since some people believe the apocalypse is coming, you might get some tips from it.  Maybe learn to ice skate.  And don’t trust anyone.  But you already knew that.  The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

GRADE  =  C