THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

So as I said last time out, I was planning on a surprise for my mum's 60th. Good old trusty Film Club at the Covent Garden hotel. 3 course dinner and the movie. Perfect. So having managed to watch the first instalment of the trilogy I plonked myself into my comfy leather seat in the screening room and waited excitedly to see what Salander and Blomqvist were going to put through next.



We are thrown immediately into disturbing flash backs from Salander's past and it quickly becomes clear that this isn't going to be a more light-hearted and jovial story. Things quickly get even darker as Blomqvist and his colleagues interview a new reporter for the Millennium magazine who is going to focus on a piece about the prostitution and human trafficking trade. The story doesn't hang about as a triple murder takes place and Salander is in the frame for the killings. What follows is a 2 separate quests: one by Blomqvist to prove the police wrong and Salander's innocence (despite them note seeing one another since the conclusion of the first film) and the other by Salander to confront the demons of her past.

As far as plot goes, that's all you're getting, I wouldn't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't read the book and for those that have, I'd be wasting my breath.

But is it any good. Erm....well, yes, it is. To an extent.

The acting is once again superb from the two leads, Rapace clearly loving the role and enjoying becoming even more Bourne like as she goes into hiding and dons disguises and Michael Nyqvist developing a determination to do the right thing and help Salander.

Unlike the first film, this has a proper baddie throughout. A mysterious blond giant of a man who really does create an aura of invincibility that makes you wonder how on earth our heroes will overcome him. You also have no real idea where he fits in to the whole thing. It constantly keeps you guessing.

So, great story that fizzes along, great acting from the familiar faces, a nemesis that fills the screen and scares you. It's all there to be just as good as the first. Well it should be. Unfortunately it suffers from the same problem that many screen adaptations of novels do. Characters pop up from nowhere with very little introduction and then serve a major purpose in driving the story forward. This clearly comes from trying to be faithful to the source material and not deviating from the plot as it exists on the page, but not being able to include the full detail of the back story otherwise it would be a sprawling 5 hour epic. There are also major exposition moments where the characters may as well be giving you a PowerPoint presentation. Unfortunately, another casualty of having to sacrifice elements of the book was the issue of human trafficking. It appeared as though this was going to be a major element of the story at the beginning and then once the chase starts it's completely forgotten about. As I've not read the book I don't know this for certain, but I understand that this issue continues in the novel throughout. Finally the police in the film serve no purpose whatsoever, they show up every so often and do nothing as Blomqvist runs about solving all of the clues. I'm sure Mr Police Chief wouldn't stand for that.

These criticisms aside, it's a very good thriller that really gets the pulse racing and builds to a climax that means I genuinely can't wait for the final instalment.

Quick note about Film Club at the Firmdale again. It was a lovely night out but there were issues in the screen room at the Covent Garden Hotel (smaller than the Soho). Some people struggled to see the subtitles at the bottom of the screen due to the seating and their view was obstructed by heads in front of them. Silly mistake and not good enough for the money this costs. Some people actually had to leave. I'm tempted to write a letter......