Claire Foy is brilliant as vengeful hacker, Lisbeth Salander. She’s the reason to watch The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story despite its predictable plot. Claire Foy’s Lisbeth Salander is 180 degrees from her role as The Queen on Netflix’s The Crown. I really liked Rooney Mara in David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and wish Mara and Fincher had filmed the other two books in the Millennium series). Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth Salander presents a strong, intense justice seeker in her trilogy of Swedish films. Claire Foy’s Salander, more caring and vulnerable (she takes a lot of punishment in this movie!), still projects her character’s relentless strength and cunning.
Part of the problems with The Girl in the Spider’s Web result from director and co-writer Fede Alvarez decisions. Alavarez is best known for his suspense film, Don’t Breathe, where a blind man stalks a trio of teenagers who broke into his house. In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Lisbeth Salander finds herself being stalked by a mysterious gang who wants a computer program that cracks nuclear weapons’s security. This movie has a little bit of a Mission Impossible feel to it with the fight scenes and elaborate stunts. I wish Claire Foy’s Salander spent more time beating up Bad Guys. You can read my review of the book version of The Girl in the Spider’s Web here. GRADE: B+
Probably see this this weekend. Like you I wish David Fincher could have done the other two in the first trilogy. I really like the Swedish ones. I liked the two novels by David Langerkranz more than I thought I would. I’ve read other reviews that also mention the Mission Impossible vibe to the film.
Steve, I liked the two MILLENNIUM novels David Langerkranz wrote, too.
I liked Rapace. I won’t be seeing this one, and the M:I comparison doesn’t help.
See you tonight!
Jeff, I wish Rapace could have found another movie vehicle for talents. She had a role in one of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes movies. The windchill here is 15 degrees! I’m sure they’ll have to de-ice our wings before we takeoff from Buffalo!
Not quite as bad here – wind chill will be just above freezing when we take off at 2 pm. Looks like an up and down weather week in New Orleans – 71 on Monday with a ton of rain, then 49 for a high on Tuesday!
Jeff, the weather in November is always iffy!
Play nice in NOLA, boys.
Rick, everybody made it to the Big Easy: Jeff & Jackie, Beth & Wiba, Maggie, Diane & me. It’s a lot warmer here than in Western NY! Can’t wait for BBQ at Deb’s!
She was great in FIRST MAN but I won’t be seeing this one. Too violent.
Patti, the violence in THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB mounts up at the conclusion. Before that, it’s mostly suspenseful.
I wish the reviews of this one gave me more confidence that I would like it.
I enjoyed the Langerkranz novel this was based on, but didn’t like his second one at all. He seemed to have no idea what he wanted to do with that one, it felt aimless and pointless.
Jeff, same here. The second Langerkranz MILLENNIUM novel seemed unfocused to me. But, I’m guessing that if THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB does well at the Box Office, we’ll see more movies in this reboot series with Claire Foy.
FYI: wind chill doesn’t affect inanimate objects!
Bob, you need to stand out in a 15 degree wind chill for a half hour or so and then tell me facts about wind chills!