The Girl Who Played With Fire Review

• 1st Sep 2010

Yes that girl, Lisbeth Salander is back for this second of three parts. What is interesting to note is that while the first film was pretty self contained, the second and third parts look likely to work more hand in hand as they become more about the protagonist than ever before.

This works well as the actress playing Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is fantastic in the role, but plot wise we are left in slight limbo at the end as not exactly everything is tied up neatly. It just gets to a point and then ends (thankfully part 3 is not far behind!)

Salander basically finds herself set up for not one, not two but three murders and then on the active run using her resourcefulness to try to clear her name and get to the root of the issue.

Not far behind is her counterpart from the first film, Mikael Blomkvist, as he tracks the moves being made with full belief that she has nothing to do with the murders.

Whilst never being on the same level as the first film, this follow on still retains high drama and a few thrills and even laughs for viewers. The complexity is within the characters though but not really in the plot which can get a bit hokey towards the end – but it is stamps all over your average English language release.

David Fincher looks set to remake at least the first film for an American audience, which is something of a disappointment and a relief both at the same time. Lovers of the films may hate the idea but the material is so rich that it won’t hurt to have another version out there. Go Sweden!

Steven Hurst