La ragazza che giocava con il fuoco

The dragon's taken to the sky, but this time it just fails to fly, not a patch on what had gone before and doesn't leave you wanting more, one or two distinct plot twists, though the vessel clearly starts to list and the flames are flickering to low and just about to lose their glow.

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is truly excellent, one would be hard pressed to find a Swedish thriller better. It wasn't flawless, but it comes close.

It was followed by two follow ups and the David Fincher film, all worth a look but the original 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is the real deal. 'The Girl who Played with Fire' for a sequel/follow-up is worthy, although there is no doubt which is the superior film. There is too much of a different feel somewhat, the original mesmerised in its tension and intensity and constantly chilled the bone and shocked. While there is tension and suspense, the bleak moodiness and bone-chilling shock value is not quite replicated here by director Daniel Alfredson, who directs efficiently enough but there was the need of more atmosphere.

'The Girl who Played with Fire' also feels rushed and incomplete, a longer length would have helped it and it was very clear that the film had been heavily cut. With a longer length, things would have felt more developed (something that the original did so brilliantly with a lot going on), the sex trafficking theme would have been less tame as it is a horrific situation and that didn't come through enough here and the ending (which was a shock in the book) less of a that's it feeling.

Although somewhat televisual-like, which is not a bad thing as such but it definitely would have benefited, or at least the atmosphere would have done, from a more cinematic and moody look, 'The Girl who Played with Fire' is a good-looking film, with a good amount of grit and style. The music is suitably haunting and the writing is efficient and taut enough if not as structurally tight as before. The story is definitely intriguing, and there is a lot of action dynamically choreographed and hardly bland, with some very nice twists and turns, also loved the expansion on Lisbeth's character, a fascinating character made even more interesting.

Performances are still fine. Michael Nyqvist is quietly commanding and the villains, if not as much as 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', pose a good threat...but this is mesmerising Noomi Rapace's film.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment after being so taken with 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' but still worthy and not bad by any stretch of the imagination. 7/10 Bethany Cox

¨Now the girl with the dragon tattoo will play with fire.¨ The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second part of the Millennium trilogy from Stieg Larsson's novel which was a huge success in Sweden. The original title of this second installment is Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden, which has the same meaning in English (the other two novels had the title changed in the translation, the first part The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo actually was titled The Men who Hate Women). The trilogy is being made into a movie in Hollywood now (directed by David Fincher), but I still recommend the original Swedish versions which are great films. This sequel isn't nearly as good as the first movie, but it still is a smart thriller that works in most part thanks to the rich characters that Larsson has created. This film is missing some of the beautiful landscape that we got to see in the first movie, the mystery is not as intriguing either, and there aren't any new interesting characters. I think that the direction and the screenplay has a lot do with why this film didn't live up to the first one. This film was directed by Daniel Alfredson instead of Niels Arden Oplev, who had directed the first part, and the screenplay was also adapted by a different writer (Jonas Frykberg) so the dialogue doesn't flow as well as the first movie did. I am glad they didn't change the actors because that would have been a mess. Noomi Rapace has played one of the most interesting computer hackers I've seen on film. She had very difficult scenes, especially in the first one, but she still managed to give a great performance and in this movie we discover a lot more about her past. The success of the first movie keeps us interested in these characters and their story, so the movie still works although some of the original magic is missing.

The film picks up one year after the first one left us and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is back working at Millennium with his crew: Erika Berger (Lena Endre) and Malin Erikson (Sofia Ledarp). A young journalist named Dag (Hans Christian Thulin) is applying for a position at the magazine and tells the crew he is investigating a sex-trafficking ring. Dag gets the position and they guarantee him they will publish his work, but they have to have strong evidence before doing so. In the meantime, Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is living a luxurious life, but is still haunted by several things from her past. She has been living abroad, but returns to Sweden in order to keep track on her court appointed guardian, Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), who has to continue giving positive reports about her or else she will release the tape she made in the first movie. She hasn't been answering Blomqvist's calls and it has been nearly a year since they last spoke. Some people aren't very happy with the investigation of the sex-trafficking ring since it involves some high powers in government, so Dag is murdered along with his girlfriend. The prime suspect is Lisbeth since her fingerprints are on the murderous weapon that belonged to Bjurman who also is found murdered. Mikael knows Lisbeth is innocent and begins investigating some of the people involved in the ring, while she does some investigating of her own uncovering some dark secrets of her past while trying to stay hidden from the police.

It is hard to review this movie on its own, unlike the first one because that one had a decent ending in itself, but this second part serves more as a bridge to the third film then it does on its own. A lot of elements were left unconcluded and I am guessing they will address them in the third film. I really liked The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo much more than The Girl Who Played with Fire, but I can't complain too much because I was still entertained by this decent thriller since I wanted to know more about these characters. Lisbeth and Mikael are probably one of the most unlikely duos on film, but they just work so well together and we can't get enough of them. The villain in this film (played by Micke Spreitz) was kind of creepy and did a good job as well in his role. The producers wanted Dolph Lundgren to play this role, but Spreitz did a decent job. I guess I will have to wait and see how the third film turns out in order to better critique the trilogy, but for now I will just leave this to be continued. I want to see if they investigate more on the sex-trafficking ring because it was not touched very much in this second movie. I still recommend this movie, just don't expect it to be as good as the first one, and know that this is only a bridge to the third film.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Perspective: I am 25, Danish (thus understanding Swedish) and have not read the books.

"The Girl Who Played with Fire" continues smoothly from were "Men Who Hate Women" left off, and lets you easily connect with the core characters. Salander, Blomkvist and the Millennium crew are as usual exposing the darker sides of society and confronting the perpetrators, while Salander being under pressure from all directions.

Where the cruelty and surprises of its predecessor were essential for making it stand out among thrillers, I find this movie more mainstream in storyline and creativity. Salander has lost some of her mysterious goth charm, and the sex trafficking theme is only touched very softly, turning the movie into a regular investigation with a familiar cast of characters.

The movie is worth watching, but it's my impression that you should rather read the book first, to get a much deeper insight in the great novel.

This is the Swedish-language film adaptation of the second of the three "Millennium" crime novels by the Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson and it's really essential that one sees "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" first because vital themes are continued. Most middle segments of trilogies lack the bright originality of the first and the satisfying denouement of the last, but this one will certainly hold your attention until the girl kicks the hornet's nest.

In this central segment, Lisbeth Salander (the mesmerising Noomi Rapace) is much more central to the narrative and indeed she and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) are only physically together for moments, although often in electronic communication and always in emotional connection.

The criminality being investigated by the "Millennium" team is more woman-hating in the form of sex trafficking and again the plot contains some surprises but this time the villains are reminiscent of Bond baddies like Blofeld and Jaws. The violence is not quite as stomach-churning as in the first episode, yet there's still plenty of bone-crunching, blood-splattering action. Lisbeth here is the most death-defying female avenger since The Bride in "Kill Bill Part 2".