Cyber hacker and thriller heroine Lisbeth Salander has had quite a life on the big screen. The three excellent original, foreign language film adaptions of the "Dragon Tattoo" novels launched in 2009, with Noomi Rapace a startling Salander for three films.
Then in 2011, Rooney Mara played Salander in David Fincher's excellent American adaption, but the film inexplicably under performed at the box office and its taken 7 years for the next sequel to appear.
THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB is the first film adaption of the new series of Salander books, with Claire Foy (First Man, The Crown) taking on the role.
This movie bombed in theatres and I can't understand why. It's really a terrific thriller that captures the book very well. Foy is more than up to the task as the anti-social, lethal weapon Salander.
This time, she finds herself pulled into a dangerous plot to steal a new weapons control system called Firefall, created by scientist Frans Balder, well played by comic actor Stephan Merchant (The Office, The Ricky Gervais Show).
Balder's brilliant autistic son August is on the run with his father, as high level government officials and powerful criminals battle over Firefall to take control of all the world's nuclear weapons.
Salander's frequent partner behind-the-scenes, journalist Michael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) leverages all his power and connections in a battle against time to help Lisbeth.
When Salander's twisted family past rises up as one of the nefarious parties trying to steal Firefall, the stakes get even higher.
The movie moves like wildfire, is beautifully shot with a heavy red, black and white color pallete by Pedro Luque (Don't Breathe) and has a wall to wall music score by Roque Banos (In the Heart of the Sea) that propels everything forward like a bat out of hell.
Foy is always believable in every fist fight, motorcycle chase and mad escape from danger, dishing it out without hesitation. She's a fantastic action hero.
I had not heard of Director Fede Alvarez, but he's got real style. It's not easy to follow David Fincher, but he gives it a hell of a run.
Unfairly maligned by critics and ignored by audiences, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB deserves an audience and should be really loved by any fan of the books, which Tamara and I certainly count ourselves as, devouring every Salander novel in the series.
It's a shame that this will likely be the last film adaption based on its $14 million total box office.
I'd love to see more of Foy as Lisbeth, she kills it.
SPIDER WEB gets a slick, exciting A.
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