DANIEL ALFREDSON

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB.5.  

Original title:  Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden

Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009.  Yellow Bird, ZDF Enterprises, Sveriges Television, Nordisk Film, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Filmpool Stockholm Mälardalen, Film i Väst, Spiltan Underhållning, Svenska Filminstitutet.  Screenplay by Jonas Frykberg, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson.  Cinematography by Peter Mokrosinski.  Produced by Soren Staermose.  Music by Jacob Groth.  Production Design by Maria Haard, Jan Olof Agren.  Costume Design by Cilia Rorby.  Film Editing by Mattias Morheden.  

A year after she helped solve a murder mystery with journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) has returned to Sweden and lands herself, almost immediately, into a whole heap of trouble. Three murders are committed that turn out to have been performed with a gun bearing her fingerprints, and her attempts at returning to a low-burn, stealthy life have now been shattered. Meanwhile Blomkvist is defying the police and trying to solve the murders on his own, having been connected with the victims (one of whom was writing an article for his magazine) and convinced that Lisbeth is innocent. This follow-up to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is as stylish, exciting and well-performed as the first one, giving its charismatic heroine even more opportunity to show off her goods and Rapace that much more room to prove how well cast she is in the lead. Its story isn’t quite as rich as it was last time around, though, taking too long to get underway, then moving into a really absorbing and exciting second act before a rushed ending. Dragon Tattoo takes the time to wrap up, and feels like its own movie without needing to be part of a trilogy, while this chapter baits a sequel and is somewhat frustrating for doing so. That said, it’s still well recommended and enjoyable, these drawbacks being only minor complaints and not major flaws.