"The Girl Who Played with Fire" is an intriguing picture since it solely focuses on the brilliant character of Lisbeth Salander, but it makes one wonder what author Stieg Larsson was thinking. How did you know there was interest in a sequel to an unpublished novel?
Lisbeth Salander has returned to Stockholm and all hell breaks loose. There is no time to reconnect with old friends because she is the prime suspect in three murders. Two were a couple that were preparing an article about sex trafficking based around a Russian named Zala. This article was going to be published in Mikael Blomquist's "Millennium" magazine. The other victim was Lisbeth's legal guardian, sadistic pig and rapist.
The only evidence points to Lisbeth, so the only investigator on her side is Blomquist, who must find Zala before Lisbeth because of the extremes the suspect is willing to go through to torture her may be too much for even her to handle.
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" shows the literary genius that Larsson possessed. For a writer who did not publish his "Millennium Trilogy", he knew what was the most interesting element of his first volume, Ms. Salander. It was either wise forethought or he was absolutely in love with the character.
It also makes on wonder how, with limited feedback, he knew he could write a third book. The mystery behind this trilogy is probably worth an anti-right wing film.
J.R.R. Tolkien's story from "The Fellowship of the Ring" was not concluded. The problem with Larsson's method is that writing a trilogy all at once means you have the ending figured out, which is odd because of the conclusion of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" seemed to have finality. If he felt he needed to write three books, he decided to spread this new tale over two volumes. Pacing goes to hell, at least that is how it works in the movies ("The Lord of the Rings", "The Matrix", "Pirates of the Carribean").
I suppose this makes the series worth a read just to compare and contrast the two entertainment mediums. Did Larsson write this knowing that it would be Millennium's "Attack of the Clones"?
Lets make one thing clear. Noomi Rapace is the anti-Hayden. This film is really good. It is a great story because we discover who Salander is beneath her hard exterior. But the drama is not as deep as its predecessor with more of an emphasis on action sequences. It is a long, strange trip compared to the first film, but not a difficult one.
Rapace is intriguing and Michael Nyqvist ups his game with his reprisal of Mikael Blomkvist. There are also enough unique new characters that fill out the cast which is something most of the Vangers from the first film were not.
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" has laid the ground work for a potentially awesome conclusion, but pales in comparison to its predecessor. It is good, but does not have the cerebral games of the first. Great performances allow this film to be worthwhile, but the open-ended nature holds it back.
This feature is for those enthralled by Lisbeth Salander, so one may have to love "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to be able to enjoy it. Since everyone should hold the character in high regard, it should not be a problem for anyone to give this film a chance.
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| Tacoma Film Club |
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