Axel Bøyum
Sebastian
Overview
When a former childhood friend crashes Sebastian's bachelor party and makes it all about himself, only an alien invasion can make them put aside their bad blood and reunite as the kick-ass laser-tag duo they once were.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readBros, UFOs, and the Gravity of a Bad Hangover
I’ll admit it: when I first read the tagline—"Bros Before UFOs"—I groaned. Not because it’s a bad joke, but because it’s such an easy one. The kind of logline that promises a film built on the sturdy, if uninspired, scaffolding of genre tropes: the ragtag group of misfits, the alien invasion as a convenient reset button for human pettiness, the obligatory third-act team-up where everyone remembers they’re actually good at something. Blasted (2022), directed by Martin Sofiedal, could have been just another lazy mashup of The Hangover and Signs, a film where the stakes are high but the emotional weight is lighter than the foam on a bachelor-party beer.
And yet—here’s the thing—I laughed. More than I expected to. And then, almost immediately, I felt guilty about it.
Because Blasted isn’t just a dumb movie. It’s a dumb movie with ambition, the kind that trips over its own feet while trying to sprint toward something resembling depth. It wants to be a raucous comedy, a sci-fi spectacle, and a surprisingly tender story about male friendship all at once.
That it only half-succeeds at any of these isn’t the point. The point is that it tries, and in that trying, it reveals something awkward and honest about how men perform camaraderie when the world is ending.
The film’s premise is simple to the point of absurdity: Sebastian (Axel Bøyum) is hosting a bachelor party for his childhood best friend, Petter (Mathias Luppichini), when an old rival, Viktor (Fredrik Skogsrud), crashes the festivities. What follows is a night of escalating chaos—drunken confessions, petty squabbles, and, oh yes, an alien invasion—that forces the group to confront the fractures in their friendship.
The aliens, when they arrive, are less a threat than a narrative convenience, a deus ex machina with glowing eyes and a penchant for abducting the wrong people. But Sofiedal isn’t interested in the aliens. He’s interested in the men who are too drunk, too stubborn, or too proud to notice them until it’s almost too late.
Audience Opinions
Limited evidence
Audience 5.8/10
"A goofy sci-fi comedy with uneven humor and a fun premise that doesn’t fully deliver on its potential."
The movie’s absurd premise and a few standout comedic moments keep it entertaining, but the humor often falls flat, and the plot feels underdeveloped. latestnetflix.com's view is that Some viewers enjoyed the lighthearted tone, while others found it too silly or predictable for its own good.
What viewers praise
- Fun premise The idea of a buddy comedy mixed with alien invasion offers a playful twist on familiar tropes.
- Lighthearted tone The movie’s attempt at humor and absurdity makes it an easy watch for those seeking something silly.
- Lead chemistry The dynamic between the main characters provides some of the film’s most enjoyable moments.
Common complaints
- Uneven humor Many jokes miss the mark, leaving the comedy feeling forced or repetitive.
- Thin plot The story lacks depth, relying too much on the premise without enough development.
- Predictable The movie follows familiar sci-fi comedy tropes without adding much originality.
Recommended for
Fans of silly sci-fi comedies Buddy comedy enthusiasts Lighthearted movie nights
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsNetflix promised to explain the Hessdalen lights. The answer was laser tag.
The valley is real. Unexplained orbs have been logged there since at least the 1930s. From late 1981 through 1984, locals reported 15 to 20 sightings a week. Scientists still argue ionization and radon. Tourists still drive in. On 12 May 2021, Netflix announced a Norwegian comedy that would, in the producer's words, "finally get clarity in the light phenomenon in Hessdalen." latestnetflix.com's read is that the clarity was aliens, zombie skin bags, and two former laser-tag prodigies at a bachelor party.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5546NL6gkE
Martin Sofiedal directed. Emanuel Nordrum wrote. Are Heidenstrom produced for Miso Film, the company behind The Wave. Heidenstrom called it the first Norwegian sci-fi comedy in production. Claire Willats, Netflix's Nordics film lead, sold "sharp humour and enjoyable action scenes." Axel Boyum plays Sebastian, the career-obsessed groom using his own stag weekend to schmooze a client. Fredrik Skogsrud is Mikkel, the friend who never left teenage laser tag. Ingrid Bolso Berdal is Hjordis, a heavily pregnant rural cop. Inverse later clocked her as Frances McDormand in Fargo. TMDB keeps the original title Blasted: Gutta vs Aliens, 1 hour 54 minutes, and a 28 June 2022 U.S. date. The official trailer, posted 7 June, opened on "Bros before UFOs." NRK still uses the valley as scenery, UFO tourism, old mines, and a junkyard paintball field. The critic wanted the local myth to do more work than backdrop. , , , ,
The director named Edgar Wright. NRK handed back a 3.
Montages sat Sofiedal and Nordrum down on premiere day. They described a creative blind date, informal pitch meetings, and why laser tag survived every draft. Edgar Wright was the named reference. NRK's Filmpolitiet was less in love. Dice 3. Thin UFO nonsense from Hessdalen, the critic wrote, with B-movie recycling and a two-hour runtime that meanders. Berdal still won the piece. "Hjordis vs aliens" beat "the guys vs aliens." Rune Temte, Skogsrud, and Boyum got credit for B-movie joy. The rest of the stag party did not. ,
Inverse, writing in September, called the film an underrated Netflix original that could sit next to Shaun of the Dead. Japanese imported vests. Green-eyed foot soldiers. Joe Exotic jokes in a Norwegian forest. Paste noted it is the first feature to treat the Hessdalen lights as a plot, then immediately throws the scientist to goo in the cold open. Nobody in the valley asked for that kind of clarity. The movie still streams. The lights still show up. , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.