Polar (2019)

"There are several ways that directors can attempt to pass off grotesque films as creative statements rather than senseless gratuity. One is to drape a sadistic experience in high art veneer – like the revolting but moody Apostle, and the empty but stylish You Were Never Really Here. The latter, dressing up the cliché of the weary killer protecting the forlorn little girl in a chichi aesthetic, looked like it was supposed to mean something, thus the commentariat chimed in with turns of phrase that – like the film – implied meaning while actually saying very little. It was “gritty poetry”, for example, with “haunted wit.” "

"The classic set-up of assassins trying to kill a retiring assassin is given a silly, ugly, cartoonish music video treatment here. Polar is an ultraviolent action flick with graphic torture, plenty of nudity and even a fair amount of hard drug use thrown in for good measure. But it's not nearly as fun as all that sounds."