The Girl who Played with Fire(2009) review

SWEDES RETURN INTELLIGENCE TO THE MOVIES

Having been entirely gripped by the remarkable “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, I was right on the edge of my seat with my anticipation of the sequel, “The Girl who Played with Fire”. As soon as it was in the theater, I ran to buy my ticket so I could be the first to see my favorite series. These films allowed me to go into a dark theater to be carried off to places I have never been and situations I have never experienced. I just sat back and enjoyed the stories that required a functioning brain.

Films are entertainment, films are an art form, films are a visual, primary, and sound. Knowledge and films carry us to places we have been and have not. The Millennium trilogy is everything I stated in the first sentence. The viewing of the trilogy sums up my love of great cinema.

Sequels are not equals has became such a common truism that now and then we forget that there are significant exceptions to the rule. “The Girl who Played with Fire”, directed this time by Daniel Alfredson, is one of those exceptions. Whilst the first movie’s characters were more fascinating than the plot, the plot “The Girl who Played with Fire” has the distinction of being as fascinating as the characters. The set up for this film is dazzling. The Millennium journalists take in a new young and talents student Dag Svensson (Thulin), with ambitions for becoming a great journalist, into their team as they explore a sex trafficking ring which engages well-known figures of the Swedish government. Then one day Dag and his girlfriend are executed and Lisabeth Salander is blamed for their execution. Mikael Blomkvist, is influenced that Lisabeth had been framed and he goes on a dangerous hunt to determine who the real murderers are. While Lisabeth seeks out to find out the truth, she struggles with her own demons and her past. The two run into each other with a bang and we are introduced to the strange white haired muscle man Niedermann.

I will not go more into explaining the plot, apart to say that unlike Hollywood films that pursue a predicable method, it is impractical to foresee what is going to take place next in this film. Some people detest films that pull surprises on them, but for me “The Girl who Played with Fire” is incredibly entertaining because it unfolds in an irregular manner.

The pace and action of this second chapter in the trilogy is far better than the first and the quantity of plot twists and reversals will leave you on the edge of your seat. YOU HAVE TO SEE THE CONCLUDING INSTALLMENT TO UNDERSTAND HOW EVERYTHING TIES IN.

5 out of 5