The Girl In The Spider's Web

Lisbeth Salander was the it girl of the literary world a decade ago. A series of books (The Millenium Trilogy) about her hacking exploits and her vigilante retribution on violent men were everywhere, you couldn't get away from them and unlike most hyped up books they actually lived up to their reputation. Well the first one anyway. Writer Stieg Larsson wrote the books as a way of casting a spotlight on the dark underbelly of Sweden's seemingly peaceful surface using people he knew and experiences he'd had as inspiration. The series was made into 3 Swedish language films that like the series of books themselves started strong and got progressively worse. Then in 2011 David Fincher adapted the first book and we got an English language version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was an ugly watch, dwelling more on the sexual violence aspect of the books than the original films. Not surprisingly it didn't really find an audience and no sequels were made. In 2015 a new book starring Lisbeth came out called The Girl In The Spider's Web, written this time by David Lagercrantz. So now we have another Lisbeth Salander movie that works in some places and not in others.

Salander is still in Stockholm and is still doing her thing. A man called Frans Balder has created a computer program capable of ending all life on earth and is regretting it so hires Salander to steal it from the U.S. government so it can be destroyed. In doing so she attracts the attention of both the N.S.A. and a very dangerous side of Stockholm's criminal underworld including a long lost face from her past.

I quite enjoyed this in the same way I enjoy a Bond or a Bourne movie. It was silly shooty fun full of decent scraps, car chases, sniper fire, odd looking bad guys and hulking henchmen. Sadly all the depth and complexity of the original trilogy has been thrown out in an effort to make it into a more audience friendly franchise and while it's an enjoyable enough watch the sanitisation of it all has knocked the darker and more interesting edges off Salander's story to make her an easily digestible hero for the masses. That said I'm glad we don't have to endure seeing her being tortured and abused anymore. Director Fede Alvarez has a nice eye too and fills the film with arresting images that do liven up proceedings somewhat. Salander as an avenger from Heaven, beautiful shots of the icy, snowy Scandinavian landscapes torn asunder by vehicles, a fight in a smoke filled bathroom pierced by glowing red eyes and more. He has a good handle on action too filling the climactic scenes with some satisfyingly crunchy moments. His direction makes the whole enterprise look good but can't fight that hollow feeling it all has.

I thought Salander would feel dated a decade later but in a climate of #metoo her brand of avenging angel vigilantism is more welcome than ever. It's just a pity we don't get to see her do more of it. An early scene aside the main story is a generic slice of action cinema that could have anyone as it's lead. She's a character who deserves a far better story than this. Claire Foy plays her this time around and does a fine job of showcasing her trademark fragility and strength. Her elfen presence making her a believable victim but when she fights back ( and boy does she) she makes a believable scrapper too. Foy is having a super year. This, First Man a couple of months back and Netflix's The Crown. With her part in that show now ended we can look forward to seeing more of her onscreen and based on this she'll do well.

The film brings back investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) too. He's a dud. In the original trilogy his story was a driving narrative force but here he adds nothing apart from being another link to the past. He's just redundant. Every scene he appears in takes from Salander's story and he's just an annoyance. A character who with a little bit of rewriting could have been lifted out of the story altogether. His character brings actress Vicky Krieps into the story too as his boss Erika. She was phenomenal earlier this year in A Phantom Thread but here she's absolutely wasted. It's a pity that in a film with a great female lead that the supporting women get such short shrift. You get the feeling a lot of the supporting cast appear here as place holder's for future franchise installments but the films poor box office performance state side has made further chapters of Salander's story unlikely. It will be a shame if her story ends here because in this political climate a character like her has mighty potential.

If you liked the books and the previous films you might enjoy this but there's nothing really here for newcomers unless you're willing to go back to the previous installments first.