As it turns out, based on is a very loaded term in this case, and followers of The Millennium Series should temper their expectations. The plot of the movie so loosely follows the novel's that it's almost unrecognizable. They've kept the basic elements - Lisbeth trying to save a small boy from the clutches of a criminal organization led by her evil sister - but everything else has been retooled, trimmed, and tweaked. In fact, you may not even recognize some of the characters because they're missing certain things that made them so special in the first place. We'll explore that in further detail soon...
This is not to say The Girl In The Spider's Web is a terrible movie, but it sure as hell doesn't live up to its billing as a Lisbeth Salander film. It's more like a James Bond film, right down to the surreal opening sequence (which is probably one of the very few things it has in common with its predecessor).
Warning - Spoilers ahead! Also, scenes of sexuality and disturbing themes!
Actually, I already spoiled it for you in the first couple paragraphs, didn't I?Still... if you're a homophobe or something, be warned that there are some not-very-explicit scenes of lesbian sex. Of far more importance is the fact that incestuous child abuse does form a big part of the story, right off the bat, even. And yes, the violence. The glorious, Hollywood-style violence.
The Premise
Franz Baldur has developed a powerful piece of software for NSA, and has second thoughts. He hires Lisbeth Salander to retrieve and destroy the software. Along the way, Baldur gets killed, leaving his young son August behind. August is the only one who can produce the password to the software, and thus the criminal organization who killed his father is out to get him too. Lisbeth to the rescue!The Characters
Claire Foy from First Man is Lisbeth Salander. And yet, she's not Lisbeth Salander. What can I say here? Foy's acting is pretty damn good and she makes full use of what appears to be a limited script, to bring Lisbeth's emotions to life. Her eyes and mouth work wonders on the close-ups, and her mild Swedish accent is icing on a solid cake. Now the bad news: Lisbeth isn't supposed to be that emotional. Not outwardly at least. And while she's supposed to be a badass, she's not supposed to be this much of a badass. The Lisbeth she plays here could give Jason Bourne a run for his money. What the film did was to play up Lisbeth Salander's action girl aspects to an unbelievable degree, and downplay her repressedness and antisocial awkwardness.Sure, Foy still gives Lisbeth a thousand-yard stare and brusque manner, but something's off. I don't blame Foy; she did an incredible job within the imposed limits, but rather, I blame the screenplay. Foy pulls off the look just fine. There's the requisite short hair, piercings and tattoos (perhaps a wee bit more than required) but somehow she looks way healthier than Noomi Rapace and definitely Rooney Mara in the role. And the lines around her face hint at a Lisbeth who is far older than the one in the book. But all that said, this version of Lisbeth Salander is just way too Hollywood.
Sylvia Hoeks is Camilla Salander, the evil sister, and the actress plays her with sinister glee. Honestly, with her thinness and pale skin, I'd have thought she would look the part of Lisbeth more than Claire Foy. Sinous and deadly, and dramatic to boot with the icy wind whipping in her hair and the bombastic speeches. She looked like she was having loads of fun hamming the shit out of her role. This is one woman who seems to enjoy playing evil bitches. Remember her in Blade Runner 2049?
Christopher Convery as August Baldur. The kid is more than adequate in the role, which basically is that of a shy and autistic genius child. Not a lot of speaking required. His chemistry with Lisbeth dwarfs that of Mikael and Lisbeth's!
Sverrir Gudnason plays Mikael Blomkvist, or at least attempts to. He spends most of the movie looking lost and woefully miscast. He's noticeably younger-looking than Michael Nyqvist and Daniel Craig were when they played Mikael before him, and almost twice as pretty. Gudnason is probably a decent actor, but there's only so much a guy can do when given a script that basically requires him to stand there and say a few lines while contributing pretty much nothing to the plot other than needing Lisbeth to rescue him. Normally any review of The Millennium Series, book or film, would list Mikael first or second in terms of importance to the plot. I've put him fourth here, and that's being kind. The character feels redundant. Michael Nyqvist would be turning in his grave. This is a travesty.
Stephen Merchant plays a geeky, concerned Frans Baldur. Nothing of note here.
Cameron Britton as Plague. The third incarnation of Plague has more to do here, with dry wit, geek-outs and even a role in the final mission. I think he's pretty good. If there's a sequel, I want him to return.
Lakeith Stanfield as Edwin Needham. Oh, they made Needham a black guy now? Whatever. This guy is more likeable here than his novel counterpart, and they even gave him a cute little backstory as a former hacker and sniper. Hell, he even has a cool role to play in one of the more awesome action sequences!
Andreja Pejić as Maria, Lisbeth's lover. On one hand, it was a cute touch to have a transsexual play a lesbian... and on the other, it smacked of pandering to the LGBT crowd. I'm undecided, but meh, this role isn't that important. I'll be honest, I'm miffed that Miriam Wu isn't in this one.
Vicky Krieps as Erika Berger. A little too young to be Erika, who's often described as some kind of cougar. Here, she looks almost the same age as Lisbeth! Also, her role is even more superfluous than that of Mikael's. If Erika was included to give Mikael a bit of relevance, her presence only served to underscore his lack of it.
Claes Bang is Jan Holtser, Camilla's chief assassin. As with most of the other characters, this one has been dumbed down to action movie genre level.
Synnøve Macody Lund is Gabrielle Grane and she does an adequate if thankless job as the icy deputy director of SAPO who turns out to be in league with the enemy. Gabrielle Grane was a minor character in the novel, and it's nice that she got an upgrade, even if it's in this form.
Mikael Persbrandt plays Alexander Zalachenko in the beginning and in flashbacks, with a suitably creepy air. He looks the part - ruggedly and cruelly handsome, and it's a shame there wasn't more. Then again, considering he's supposed to be a paedophile here, maybe it's just as well.
The Mood
The cinematography, for the most part, is bleak and drab, covered in shades of grey and pale blue, and wrung dry of every ounce of cheer. It's like we're looking into the world through Lisbeth's filter and she sees nothing more than dim and neutral colors. The action is fairly decent, featuring car chases, hand-to-hand combat and smooth computer trickery. It's thick and fast, and all anyone really has to do is turn their brain off and enjoy the spectacle.It's basically Lisbeth Salander, dumbed down and then exaggerated for mainstream audiences.
The wintry landscape they used for the set had its own harsh beauty. Perhaps particularly fitting for such movie with such a somber tone.
What I liked
Like its predecessor, this movie is English language but set in a country where the signboards are in Swedish. Unlike its predecessor, however, the characters, or at least Lisbeth Salander, make an effort at a Swedish accent. It's something.The opening action where Lisbeth beats the shit of an abusive husband and robs him to distribute his money to his victims. It's really awesome, and while it's not in the book, I liked its inclusion. It functions as a great introduction to the legend of Lisbeth Salander.
August and Lisbeth share some great moments, played for laughs amid the grimness of the action. When he beats her at chess, for example.
Plague and Needham, too, have some good moments working together. It's not in the book, but it's great.
Reduced complexity of storyline. The novel by David Lagercrantz, while markedly less verbose than Steig Larsson's works, still tended towards a meandering plot. Gotta hand it to the filmmakers; they knew what they were going for and they went for it hard, streamlining the plot down to the very basic essentials. The result is a watchable action movie, just not a great addition to The Millennium Series.
The soundtrack. Majestic and stirring, eerie and haunting in spots, it was just about the quintessential Bond soundtrack. Except, of course, this wasn't a Bond movie.
What I didn't
The recurring spider theme. In the novel, Camilla chose the spider as her emblem, as a foil to Lisbeth's moniker, Wasp. Over here, I didn't hear the word "Wasp" mentioned even one time, but the spider origin has been changed to that of the sisters watching a spider weave a web, and the occasional close-up of a wandering spider in a scene or two. Sorry, that's lame.Incestuous abuse. Alexander Zalachenko was a rotten dude, but even he wasn't a pedophile, much less an incestuous one. The writing feels lazy here.
Characterization. You'd think that with less characters to deal with in the tightened storyline, more attention would be given to the characters on-screen. But no, we get caricatures, some more well-delivered than others, but still, nothing that stands out as unique. Lisbeth Salander is an ass-kicking force of nature who can hold her own against multiple trained men (for a while anyway) and commands near-magical control of any computer she happens to encounter. Camilla is a hammy villain with little of the complexity she had in the novel.
Mikael and Lisbeth's chemistry is almost non-existent here, unlike all the previous movies. Seriously, Mikael is dead weight in this movie.
Not a mention of Miriam Wu? How difficult could that be? Instead, we had a near-anonymous generic white woman lesbian pairing with Lisbeth Salander.
Computer wizardry. This is probably my biggest beef with the movie. The nice thing about the previous movies was that they kept the tech somewhat realistic. In previous books and films, we got the takeover of the average computer system in a matter of days. Now, instead, we get scenes like Lisbeth commandeering an entire airport via the use of a strategically-placed mobile phone in minutes. Taking over a car's computer system on the fly while chasing it in another vehicle. What gives?!
Conclusion
As a standalone action thriller, The Girl In The Spider's Web is perfectly serviceable; but a "new Dragon Tattoo Story" it is not. There are few investigative elements in there, and precious little of the Mikael-Lisbeth dynamic that made previous films so successful. Fans of The Millennium Series looking for a worthy successor to the original series and the American remake may find themselves sorely disappointed, perhaps even outraged.I had fun, but I'd be lying if I said this movie was anything more than standard popcorn fare. If guns, explosions and slick visual effects is your poison, or you're absolutely desperate for any strong female lead, this flick works. Otherwise, save your money.
My Rating
5.5 / 10
Crawl on over to theaters this weekend!
T___T
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