Black Crab  ★★★

IN CONTRAST to its uninspiring title, Black Crab is a decent action thriller from Sweden.

The always busy and versatile Noomi Rapace plays the central character, Caroline Edh, whom we are introduced to in the opening scene trying to flee a conflict with her young daughter.

Without seeing exactly what occurs, we then jump forward a few years to Caroline, who is now a soldier, travelling on a train by herself. She is met by an other officer who is meant to take her to a base but they are separated on the way.

Upon arriving at the base, she is joined in a briefing by several other soldiers who have been recruited for a special mission that they are told will help end the war that is apparently ongoing.

Whether this is the conflict that Caroline and her daughter were engulfed in years earlier we aren’t sure. In fact not a lot is explained, including Caroline’s background, which is a source of some frustration for the audience.

Anyway, the mission involves delivering two packages to another location but the catch is they have to cross an ice-covered river by skates and can only travel at night so they won’t be noticed by the enemy.

Along the way the mission is put at risk by not just the enemy but also team members with other motivations and/or orders.

The action and acting are decent but the best aspect of the film is the plot device of having to traverse the ice on skates at night which presents some terrific photography and visuals, particularly when they comes across a half-buried ferry and dead bodies.

The final act also has an interesting turn which will either satisfy or annoy some viewers.