The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden) (2009)

After seeing the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and then, reading the book, I felt like I’d seen two versions of the same movie. The book  filled in many details and rounded out the first movie. Details from the first book spill into the second movie and these details filled in many gaps. I don’t think the book is written particularly well (though it’s hard to tell whether it’s a subpar translation or poor writing) but the story grabs you with it’s fast pace and suspense. I’m certain I will read all three books.

This installation is Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) story (as compared to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was clearly Mikael Blomkvist’s (Michael Nyqvist) story. We got background information about her childhood, her mother and father and what led to her guardianship. She has a temper and you wouldn’t want to see her when she’s angry.

Her hair is still fantastic, just longer now. She’s distanced herself from Blomkvist. He has continued trying to reach her but she’s ignored him, until she’s accused of MURDER and needs his help this time. This is where we get started. The movie moves at a quick clip and she is still an ass-kicker, but she meets a match that might bring her down. I won’t even do a spoiler alert here because I don’t want you to know what happens (except that it has a cliffhanger ending). To say that I cannot wait for the 3rd and final installation of this one is an understatement.

Director: Daniel Alfredson

Country: Sweden

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 129 minutes

Scale: 4