The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

7/10

Starring

Michael Nyqvist

Noomi Rapace

Directed by Daniel Alfredson

This second take on the Millennium series titled The Girl Who Played with Fire, is also an adaptation of the late Stieg Larsson’s book of the same name. The movie is very intriguing and a little difficult to follow I noticed if you have not already read the book and have a clue where every puzzle piece is supposed to fit. I feel the movie is a step down from the first crime thriller (which this is also), but that is expected because now we know the characters and what they are capable of.

I enjoyed though how the movie runs like the book. What I mean is, in the book as you will see in this movie both Lisbeth and Mikael are running investigations separately into the same thing, with Lisbeth leaving message trails on Mikael’s laptop to follow.

In the first movie you can sense that Lisbeth original guardian was nice to her and trusted her. But in the movie when he had suffered the stroke she was angry which can be tied to her feeling abandoned by the one person she could rely on. In this movie you get to see that bridge crossed by her to care for the person who cared for her. The movie helps to connect the dots in Lisbeth’s pasts and pulls the curtain on certain aspects that you may have questions about, and leave the door open to new questions.

Both Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace reprise their role as Mikael and Lisbeth respectively. In fact majority of the cast are back in their respective roles.

The movie plot takes place months I believe after the incidents of the first film Lisbeth has settled to the money she has acquired and is living the life. Back in Sweden a couple approach Mikael’s magazine Millennium with a huge story about prostitution, sex and human trafficking. They continue to investigate and start to dig up dirt which many people will kill to have buried.

Lisbeth is back in Sweden and discovers that her new guardian who abused her is trying to get the tattoo she wrote on his torso removed. She confronts him with his gun and warns him not to even think of removing the tattoo. Lisbeth goes along with her life, and soon we have a case of triple murder.

The couple investigating the sex trafficking have been killed and so has Lisbeth’s guardian. Lisbeth is now the chief suspect.

The couple’s death was not in vain as they left their investigations in the hands of Millennium almost done except one thing, a man named Zala whose name keeps coming up.

Mikael and his team decided to continue the investigation because Mikael believes that their death has something to do with Lisbeth whom he believes is innocent.

Soon the movie takes a deep dive into Lisbeth past and some of her past monsters come up from the dig and start to hunt her.

The movie was not the wild critical acclaim of the first, but it is considered a good followup. So now I will dive into the last movie of the series which is based on the last book of the same name (The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest) written by the late Stieg Larsson.