User reviews

What annoys me the most is that this movie could have been so good... an engaging story by the best-selling nordic writer Jo Nesbø, a breathtaking cinematography, an exceptional cast (Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, JK Simmons, Chloe Sevigny and even Val Kilmer).

And yet the adaptation is so unsatisfactory. There are cuts and jumps that break the fluidity of the narrative, the plot ended up so stereotyped that in 15 minutes I already knew who the murderer was, and then there were so many loose ends... And that ending is just empty, empty, empty. What a waste of potential. This book deserved a much more coherente adaptation.

I can't deny that I had high hopes for this film and it disappointed me on many levels, but I do think some of the previous reviews are exaggerating just how bad 'The Snowman' is. The film is messy, even puzzling at times, and very frustrating to watch. It lacks focus and struggles to find its feet early on. It also contains some baffling individual scenes that contribute nothing to the plot or film as a whole.

It improves as it goes along though and, contrary to what a lot of others have said, I thought the ending was relatively well done. The film is more of a mystery than a horror and it did keep me interested and guessing until the end... though I'm sure the stunning Scandinavian scenery did the film a lot of favours in terms of watchability.

'The Snowman' is disappointing, but it does have some pluses and is not as bad as some are making it out to be.

How The Snowman became the film it ended up being will likely forever remain a great mystery of bad movie history.

The Snowman's director Tomas Alfredson has publicly stated that his movie makes no sense, is missing a large percentage of its script due to filming time constraints and generally has stated that this is not the film he intended to make but that's no real excuse for the sleep inducing police thriller we get here.

That The Snowman has been so universally panned and lamented is not surprising, as Alfredson is a filmmaker whose got run's on the board with brilliant vampire tale Let The Right One In and the great cold war thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but his not the only reason why so many were genuinely surprised by the downright blandness that was this adaptation of Jo Nesbø's famous series of book's.

Starring Michael Fassbender (whose literally never been less charismatic or uninterested looking and is now officially in dire need of a hit) and such co-stars as J.K Simmons, Toby Jones, Val Kilmer and Rebecca Ferguson, produced by Martin Scorsese, scripted by competent screenwriters that includes Hossein Amini and even edited by Scorsese's long time editing master Thelma Schoonmaker, The Snowman has all the talent in the world and manages to squander it in a genuinely frustrating and uninvolving fashion as we slog through 2 hours of an indescribable mess of proceedings.

The Snowman may not be the worst film of 2017 but it's clearly the biggest waste of potential and Alfredson's claims that some hugely important parts of the story weren't even filmed don't seem too far off the mark as characters come and disappear, important story strands are seemingly passed over, while the central story of a brutal killer building snowman with severed human heads whilst taunting Fassbender's alcoholic detective Harry Hole with letters and phone calls just never becomes even slightly thrilling or engaging against all the odds of it doing so.

It's a bizarre experience witnessing a film with all the elements of being something of note and just never taking hold on any facet of its being, Alfredson ads no flair or imagination from behind the camera, Fassbender sleepwalks through his turn, Marco Beltrami's intrusive score annoys from the outset, even some badly computer generated seagulls look like they've been animated by Microsoft Paint.

With everything and everyone in The Snowman failing to make a mark or even give off the vibe that they care, it makes you wonder if this was a case of no one really being truly invested in making a good film, or at the very least thinking that it would all just fall into place with the minimum effort exerted, proving that you can have all the talent assembled and still make a downright poor excuse for a feature.

Final Say -

Not 2017's worst film but certainly the most disappointing, The Snowman could've been (and really should've been) one of the year's best thriller's, that not only had audience's on the edge of their seats, but eagerly awaiting more Harry Hole adventures in what's clearly supposed to be a franchise set-up.

What we get instead is a movie more likely to lull you into a sleep, than raise any form of interest or suspense.

1 fork out of 5

There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for The Snowman, which is a pity since most of the elements I love about Scandinavian crime drama are there: an overall unglamourous look; icy landscapes; a protagonist with emotional issues and difficulties connecting with other people; gruesome killings; dark family secrets, enough red herrings to fill a small sea, and a surprise twist at the end. In fact, had this been a Norwegian movie, then I think that most people would have praised it as pleasantly non-Hollywood, but now they don't now what to make of it so they give it a critical drubbing. Director Tomas Alfredson (of Tinker Tailer Sodier Spy fame) knows how to put the elements together in the best tradition of series like The Killing (Forbrydelsen) and The Bridge (Bron) and films like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor), but, to be fair, The Snowman is also the lesser of this group.

Much of that can be blamed on production issues. Apparently, Alfredson got involved late in the production, and large parts of the screenplay were not even filmed. Judging from scenes that are in the trailer and missing from the movie, editor Thelma Schoonmaaker (of Goodfellas fame) may have had a hard time to make a version that is at least coherent. Still, some sequences in the movie noticeably take their time for set-up, sometimes to little avail, as if essential parts are missing; other scenes, especially the climax and the epilogue, are too fast-paced to the point of feeling rushed. I haven't read the book but I have been told that Harry Hole is much more eccentric and complex than we get to see here. Michael Fassbender is an excellent actor, but I would have loved to see more of his troubles, other than his alcoholism and lack of remembering appointments.

The best treatment for The Snowman probably would have been an entire miniseries, preferably with Norwegian actors. It would have given ample exposure to Harry's character, his interactions with suspects, and time to explore the subplots that are now only touched upon, especially the ones involving Val Kilmer, Toby Jones and J.K. Simmons, who get way too little to do. It kind of feels as if the makers tried to cut 10 hours worth of top television into a 2-hr feature. That said, I do not recognize some of the criticism that the film is utterly incomprehensible and its characters all over the place. Undoubtedly, many people are only familiar with heavily Americanized remakes of Scandinavian crime dramas where everything tends to be clear and everyone is rather normal. I would advise those people to watch a genuine one from Scandinavia, with subtitles, made by local actors and crew. Enigmatic, ambiguous characters who cannot be defined by a single character trait, and a measure of ambiguity in the plot should be part of the deal.

A final plus is that the makers used their budget for some breathtaking shots of Norway's scenery, something that would have been difficult to realize on a television budget. This movie is certainly not perfect, but it has some great tense moments, and it saves you a ticket for a holiday to Norway.

Bit slow at times but It can't be all action all the time. It entertained me, exactly what it was supposed to do.

This film is literally unfinished. According to the director, about 15% of the screenplay was not filmed. And it shows. The editors probably tried their best to turn this into a coherent film, but they definitely did not succeed. This is one of the worst edited movies I've seen.

I will say this however, this movie can be really damnfunny. There were so many scenes where I was laughing my ass off.

When Harry Hole (yes, that's his name) sees the shape of a snowman drawn on the car roof, the completely random uses of Popcorn Song, when the camera moves around that random snowman to reveal that it's actually a "scary" snowman... comedy gold! In that sense, I really enjoyed this terrible, awful, really not good movie.

The Snowman is a psychological thriller based upon Jo Nesbo's critically acclaimed novel of the same name. This film received mixed to negative critics but I have to disagree. Despite a few flaws, this film is overall above average in my book. Let's take a look at what several critics had to say and compare their points to my personal experience.

Many people complained that the movie didn't do the novel any justice and was missing several elements. I have to disagree because a movie can never be fully faithful to the original novel. That would also be quite unimaginative as you could simply stick to reading the novel if the movie had the very same characters, contents and dialogues. Overall, I think the movie portrayed the most important characters, events and locations and had a very appropriate length around two hours. If the movie had been longer, it would have overstayed its welcome and lost the audience's attention.

Several critics say that the movie has a confusing timeline and feels incoherent. This isn't the case at all. The movie starts with an obvious and important flashback that introduces us to the serial killer and why he has become such a monster. The only other flashback shows us a police officer and later on detective in Bergen who was investigating a case related to what would turn out to be the serial killer's crimes. The content of the flashback as well as the portrayed investigator are very important for the film and add some crucial depth to it. Aside of these two flashbacks, the film has a perfectly coherent chronological order with a strong exposition, an elaborate rising action, an intense climax, a gloomy falling action and a very short resolution that doesn't overstay its welcome.

I have read in many reviews that the potential of the actresses and actors isn't fully exploited. I have to disagree once more. Michael Fassbender was convincing as desperate police officer who was struggling with his alcohol addiction, his complicated family situation and the complex case. He performed this character with its credible flaws and strengths in a very authentic way. Rebecca Ferguson was just as convincing as young, energetic and dynamic officer with a mysterious hidden agenda. This actress also portrayed a credible character with amazing strengths and complex weaknesses. The supporting actresses and actors also did an excellent job from the pervert businessman to the disillusioned teenager. I would even go as far to say that this psychological thriller had some of the greatest acting performance and most interesting characters in recent memory.

Add a constantly gloomy atmosphere, stunning landscapes in and around Bergen and Oslo and twisted finale and you have a very well- made genre movie.

The only reasons why this movie didn't get an even better rating are the fact that the first third of the movie overstays its welcome and takes too much time to introduce characters and get the actual story started and that the story itself isn't the most original one and at times quite predictable if you are familiar with other genre movies and novels. Obviously, the source material has to be blamed for the latter downside and not the script.

That being said, The Snowman is an overall enjoyable thriller with a gloomy atmosphere, stunning landscapes and great acting performances. While it might not be among this year's greatest film, one should ignore overtly harsh and biased critics and give this movie a fair chance. Genre fans should at least appreciate it.

As I read many reviews the two things people hate this movie for is: It's a crime-thriller and not a horror story like the book was. Because I haven't read the book I can't say on what level they differ, but the movie is still very interesting and exciting. And the other thing is the ending. I agree that it comes a bit fast and leaves you kinda hanging, BUT it fits the whole frosty northern scenery well and makes the story line a full circle.

I really enjoyed it, can't really understand why it gets so much hate.

The snowy white landscapes of Oslo seemed like the perfect setting for chilling crime thriller The Snowman, a film based on Jo Nesbø's novel of the same name. The trailers promised so much and with a lead actor like Michael Fassbender on board, it had the potential to be one of the most intense films of the year.

When Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) is called to investigate a string of murders where the killer leaves snowmen as a calling card, he must delve into past cases to make a connection before the killer strikes again.

For a crime thriller to work, it must grip the audience right through to the end. The first half of The Snowman had my full attention, unsure of where the story was going to go or what would be revealed however, as the film drew on and revelations were made, it utterly lost me due to how lazy it became. They storytelling that felt so strong in the first half was totally absent in the second, none of the revelations as impactful as they should have been and the ending coming so abruptly. I hate the fact the film didn't seem to wrap up this story properly before closing with such a sequel baiting final scene.

As with Tomas Alfredson's previous films, the pacing is pretty slow however, unlike Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the consistence in quality isn't maintained throughout. Half an hour before the end I was ready for it to finish. Such a shame because this had such potential to be such a creepy thriller, instead the snowmen left as calling cards coming across as more comical than anything.

Coming to the performances, The Snowman isn't exactly let down at all. It's just they feel a little uninspired considering some of the actors working in the film. Michael Fassbender is one of the best actors working today but even if he looks as if he's given up on the film towards the end. I'm still waiting for a Fassbender performance as good as Steve Jobs, and that was two years ago now. While I don't think anyone gave a bad performance, the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Val Kilmer, Toby Jones and J. K. Simmons were left a little too underused for my liking.

A film of two halves for me, starting so promisingly before fizzling out to such an unsatisfying finale, The Snowman is rather annoyingly one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

This movie is not bad. Very slow-paced, and arguably not enough of a pay-off, but it's solid enough to watch start-to-finish.

***SPOILERS***

The good part is that the film leads viewers down a long false trail. That had me wondering early on: there are no alternative suspects to the string of murders. It seemed too simple. A-ha, there came a twist.

The bad part was that the twist didn't make a whole lot of sense. Perhaps because the killer is kept hidden so long, their motivation leaves too many question marks. The climactic scene leans heavily on exposition and flashback; sure signs that the story's presentation was weak.

Also, there were so many separate murders that it makes you wonder how the heck this killer got around so much, and why?

Still. 5.1 seems low.

***MILDLY RECOMMENDED***

The original material the film is based on, "The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo, is a gripping thriller brilliantly composed with complex characters. However, this film adaption lacks everything. Frankly, there is very little left of the original story. The scriptwriters not only tampered with the plot, but altered characters as well. It is an entirely different story that is badly constructed with gaping holes in the plot.

Without having read the book, I'd imagine it would be slightly better with decent performances from the actors. Shame that had such an awful script to work with.

For a start, my way into this is without having read any of the Harry Hole novels (which all the critics seems to have). So I can look at this movie from a somewhat more objective view and, I conclude, it's not bad. To me this feels like more of a super hero movie in genre in that the characters, both the likable and the less likable characters are a bit flat, I admit that but I think it works out well (this is why it reminds me of a classic super hero movie).

Especially I like the secondary story told flashbacks about Rafto, the drunken police man, intriguingly played by Val Kilmer. Also Rebecca Ferguson and J.K. Simmons do good appearances. Michael Fassbender obviously the key performer, doing an excellent and trustworthy appearance. Although not as good as "Tinker, Solder, Sailor, Spy" (reg: Tomas Alfredson) or "The Dark Knight" (reg: Christopher Nolan), I think Alfredson this time is somehow within range of these movies on certain elements (such as scenery, pace, intriguing social milieu).

I hear the novels are fast and direct, while I think the movie is a mix between an action and slow paced movie. Therefor I think you should not watch this as 1) a direct comparison to the books, or 2) towards a book (which you haven't read) but heard excellent things about, and as bad comparisons between the book and the movie.

I made the mistake of reading the book again before watching the movie So had high expectations. It was The Snowman that got me hooked on Jo Nesbo and was excited when I saw the trailer. I walked out of it at the end feeling very disappointed.

Characters were stripped down to being almost irrelevant. They should have stuck more closely to the book for Katrine Bratt, such an important part. Ave Stop did not come across as the charismatic media guru. Instead, he appeared to be somewhat impotent. ldar Vetlesen may as well have been cut right out of it. The script very loosely followed the book. The twists in the plot were poorly handled. The opening Scene faded to frame the plot and I won't say anymore about that. Val Kilmer as Gert Rafto?? At least the harsh, bleak atmosphere was captured and Fassbender did a pretty good job.

This movie Should be shown to film students on how not to do it.

I read that this movie got some pretty terrible reviews but i kind of enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for cop/detective movies especially ones where the main character is jaded and burnt out and the movie has a great cast - Micheal Fassbender, J.K Simmons and the beautiful Rebecca Ferguson. The story kept me interested all the way through and the Norwegian setting is pretty stunning to look at. It felt like a TV movie in places though probably because nothing is overly flashy and the movie wasn't particularly action packed but i did enjoy the police procedural elements. It's well acted and i was invested to know what would happen next. Also you're kept in the dark until the last 15 minutes as to who the killer is and then my reaction was "Oh, it's that guy....really?". Not as awful as the reviews would make you believe but not a classic. If you enjoy detective thrillers i'd say check it out, you'll have a decent time.

other reviews critique based on Hollywood tropes and complain because they are missing. Instead the film strives, successfully, to evoke the atmosphere of Scandinavian Noire, while employing the story telling techniques of Knut Hamsun - no character development, no exposition, and entering the story mid-crisis. I wish it had been recorded in Norwegian so we could appreciate the conflict between Bergen and Oslo, so integral to the books. it's a mood film, not simply a whodunit. bringing in familiar USA actors was a clever red herring, but probably won't be appreciated, and instead some will complain these actors didn't get more screen time. finally, the anti-tourism photography of winter instead served the story and was worth the price of admission to the big screen view. Overall a needed antidote to the last 20 years of execrable USA superhero fare.

Why people would hate this movie is a mystery to me. The mystery element is what makes this movie interesting to watch. For the entire movie you speculate on what could be going on, on who's the killer and what are his reasons. There are enough twists and turns to make The Snowman a good movie in this genre. Maybe not the best but good enough to have a pleasant movie night. There are some good Scandinavian movies and series and this is one of them. The cast with Michael Fassbender, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Rebecca Ferguson is well chosen. They all add something special to the movie. I thought J.K.Simmons and Val Kilmer should have gotten a bigger role to make this movie even better. The horror parts were not too explicit but good enough to give you the suspense feeling. Certainly worth a watch.

I just don't know where to begin...

...well lets start with the story, a films core. The Snowman's plot and its execution was all over the place. It's not just that it was nonsensical and just laughably stupid by the end, but the movie was filled with scenes and complete subplots that were completely inconsequential and unnecessary. Some characters and their whole storyline could easily have been cut out and it wouldn't have had any effect on the plot. Excuse me, did I write characters? There were none in this film, only famous and recognizable faces who were hired because of their name. Talking about this stellar cast full of fantastic actors, they just as easily could have been replaced by complete unknowns and it wouldn't have changed a thing. I feel bad for them, since Fassbender is in my opinion one of the best working actors today, along with Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons and Toby Jones who unfortunately just did not have anything to work with from the get go.

Okay, lets talk about the execution of this mess. It starts out slow after a very odd opening and stays that way for more than half of the movie. Nothing important happens. Then we are introduced to some new "characters" and subplots, which also didn't add anything to the film. Then there's some effort to build Fassbender's "character", which had no payoff and was completely unconvincing anyway. Then by the time you get to the half-way point you're bored out of your mind and already know who done did the things that had been done, so there's no reveal or twist by the end. And that ending. It is just completely ridiculous and has a few unintentionally laugh out loud moments. So, there's that.

I have to say that I haven't read the source material, so I don't know if it's as bad as the film (probably not), but the film is just bad. Really bad. It's extremely stale and bafflingly stupid, which caught me off guard, since there was a time where Scorsese was set to direct. I wonder if he could have made it work.

The only good that's worth mentioning is that the setting is very pretty to look at, shot at times beautifully, which at least adds a certain atmosphere to the film and lastly there was some fun gore and unintentionally funny scenes.

So don't go out of your way the see this one, it's a stinker.

Great actors, great book. Great scenery. But what's happening here? People are introduced, things are happening, but I don't get it. What is happening? What are they working on? Is there a case here, a story? I wanted this movie to be great, but it is too much fluff and little (if any) story for a movie the way it's presented. Who directed this.................................

I've seen how much of a bad reception this film has received and I generally don't agree that it was as bad as its been made out to be.

I'll start with the acting, this was top notch and the cast did an amazing job. Michael Fassbender put in a really good performance.

The visuals and cinematography were great. It was wonderfully shot and the locations looked beautiful.

The soundtrack wasn't too bad, it built up the tension when it needed too.

The one issue I've noticed people point out is that it feels like a mess and the pacing isn't great. I agree with this to some extent. At points in the movie it does feel a bit jumbled, but I feel like this was done on purpose, because some of this confusion is covered and made sense of in the third act.

The third act is probably the best part of the film, the build up to the conclusion was done well, and it leaves you on the edge of your seat. However, the actual conclusion of the film, did leave a sour taste in my mouth.

If you like slow burner thrillers, then this is the film for you.

It really isn't that bad.