The Girl Who Played with Fire (2010)
Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist
Directed by Daniel Alfredson
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
I liked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wasn't head over heels in love with it like some other critics, but I thought it was an interesting mystery tale that, while not particularly groundbreaking, had some decent performances from two lead actors. The chemistry between Noomi Rapace's edgy Lisbeth Salandar and Michael Nyqvist's somewhat clean-cut Mikael Blomkvist was quite good. In the second part of the Millenium trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, that chemistry is never present because the two actors never share a scene until literally the film's final minute. Instead, the film lacks that emotional oomph that carried the first flick and piles on a much more convoluted and uninteresting murder mystery.
I'll be honest, I zoned in and out of this one in terms of story. They started throwing around a bunch of people with 'J's in their last names (Bjornsen, Jorgenson...they're all the same to me!) and I kinda got lost. Apparently there are people in the political realm who are involved in some human prostitution trafficking and two news reporters working for Mikael Blomkvist's magazine "Millenium" are murdered after they uncover information involving the politicians. However, for some reason (that I'm pretty sure is explained at the end, however, the movie had already lost me at that point) Lisbeth Salandar is the prime suspect because a gun was used with her fingerprints on it. Needless to say, Lisbeth finds herself on the run and Mikael does what he can do clear her name.
Ultimately, the story is what killed this flick to me because I actually found Noomi Rapace's performance as Lisbeth more enjoyable in this flick than the first. Despite the fact that her character didn't have nearly as much of an emotional journey as she did in he first film, the performance felt a little more balanced. I also liked the way this second film looked a bit more than than the first, so kudos to new director Daniel Alfredson.
However, those are the only two things that worked in the film. Everything else (including an absolutely boring turn from Michael Nyqvist) was a disappointment. While I'm certainly going to finish up the trilogy when the last film arrives on Netflix in the next few months, the middle flick of the series didn't live up to the moderate expectations set in number one.
I'll be honest, I zoned in and out of this one in terms of story. They started throwing around a bunch of people with 'J's in their last names (Bjornsen, Jorgenson...they're all the same to me!) and I kinda got lost. Apparently there are people in the political realm who are involved in some human prostitution trafficking and two news reporters working for Mikael Blomkvist's magazine "Millenium" are murdered after they uncover information involving the politicians. However, for some reason (that I'm pretty sure is explained at the end, however, the movie had already lost me at that point) Lisbeth Salandar is the prime suspect because a gun was used with her fingerprints on it. Needless to say, Lisbeth finds herself on the run and Mikael does what he can do clear her name.
Ultimately, the story is what killed this flick to me because I actually found Noomi Rapace's performance as Lisbeth more enjoyable in this flick than the first. Despite the fact that her character didn't have nearly as much of an emotional journey as she did in he first film, the performance felt a little more balanced. I also liked the way this second film looked a bit more than than the first, so kudos to new director Daniel Alfredson.
However, those are the only two things that worked in the film. Everything else (including an absolutely boring turn from Michael Nyqvist) was a disappointment. While I'm certainly going to finish up the trilogy when the last film arrives on Netflix in the next few months, the middle flick of the series didn't live up to the moderate expectations set in number one.
The RyMickey Rating: D
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