Review of The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) by Halfwelshman — 30 Nov 2011

Ok, so it's not as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which is hardly surprising, as the first film bordered on perfection) but The Girl Who Played with Fire still has a lot to offer. New director Daniel Alfredson takes the story in a more action-centric crime thriller direction, which has merit in terms of pure entertainment, but holds far less intrigue than the dark, gritty murder-mystery that the first film was.

The story itself is a little slow off the mark, and can become a little convoluted at times, but manages to find its feet about halfway through. Noomi Rapace continues to prove herself as a formidably talented and versatile young actress, adding further depth to the character of Lisbeth Salander as more of her back-story is revealed, and Michael Nyqvist is still strong, though he's not as essential to the second film's story.

While it's never dull to watch, you can't help but think you've seen a lot of things in The Girl Who Played with Fire somewhere before. Unlike its predecessor, the film owes a lot to Hollywood thrillers, and you can spot the films that influenced it a mile off (a bit of The Fugative here, some Bourne there).

Though it's for the most part entertaining, it's such a shame that the second part of the Millennium trilogy completely lacks the originality of the first.