Review of The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) by Rick D — 09 Nov 2018

An enjoyable action movie featuring Lisbeth Salander, the main character of the beloved Millenium Trilogy. This movie focuses a lot more on Salander while her main co-lead, Mikael Blomqvist, is relegated to a relatively minor role. Claire Foy shows great range and determination taking on the role of Salander, and does a very good job providing a new interpretation. People will inevitably compare her performance to those of her predecessors in this role, Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara. Personally I feel that Rapace's performance was exemplary and will likely not be equaled. But I see no reason to use that as a reason to denigrate a new interpretation of the role.

The movie itself is paced less like the original three movies and more like a Jason Bourne high-tech surveillance/chase thriller. I enjoyed it for what it is and don't condemn it for not being exactly the same as the original trilogy. (I treated Fincher's Dragon Tattoo the same way and, to be blunt, I am baffled at people who treat _that_ movie as the definitive.).

Yes, a lot of the computer science is not realistic. Realistic computer science doesn't make for good movies. The acting was very strong and the story kept me interested throughout. I can see this movie being used to launch a new series - that is, unless people demand that the series adhere to standards that are never required of James Bond or Jason Bourne movies.