Cert 15
92 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence
I was salivating like Pavlov's dog after I had seen the trailer for The Salvation and, boy, I wasn't disappointed.
Mads Mikkelsen's name alone usually guarantees quality (ok, The Age Of Uprising was sub-standard), and so it proves again.
Here he plays a peaceful Danish settler in the Wild West where corruption and killing are rife.
In the opening scenes his wife and child, who have joined him in the United States after several years, are murdered by two ex-cons, including the brother of a the area's toughest villain (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Mikkelsen's character kills his family's murderers but this sparks a chase and a chain of fearsome retribution.
Inevitably, Mikkelsen is superb in the lead role - playing, the quiet, hard and determined settler with total conviction.
I was more surprised by Morgan whose PS I Love You left me mentally bruised back in 2007 and who had been confirmed as a slush puppy with The Accidental Husband a year later.
There could not be a greater contrast with his performance here as a ferociously, ruthless and evil Wild West gangster.
Meanwhile, there are curious contributions from Eva Green as a widow who has had her tongue cut out and, therefore, doesn't speak throughout and Eric Cantona as a henchman who only utters one line during the film.
But these quirks add to a tough-as-nails action movie in which the story-telling is powerful, the direction of Kristian Levring is sublime and the acting is of the highest quality.
The Salvation is bleak. Don't watch it if you need to be uplifted but it is superbly gritty and just might become one of my films of the year.
Director Kristian Levring: "Ever since I was a child I have loved Westerns. Making The Salvation was like reliving my childhood imagination of a world that in every sense of the word was far away from my life. The Salvation is a tribute to the classic American Western."
Reason to watch: Its grit, its guts and Mads Mikkelsen - just as brilliant as ever
Reason to avoid: If you don't like westerns
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 9/10