Lisbeth Salander must eventually face her past when she gets caught up in a web of lies, her hacking ability doesn't always work out in her favour. It sees her reunite with journalist Mikael Blomkvist.
Ok, so I find this film to be a bit of a strange one. In terms of Lisbeth Salander do people still know much about her? Did they see the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Because if not then parts of this film won't make a massive amount of sense. I read the book and have seen the Swedish and English versions of the first film. I failed to complete the trilogy. I feel the character development is missing if you have not seen Dragon Tattoo.
This film really wants to remind everyone that Lisbeth has a dragon tattoo. I lost count of how many scenes we get to see that tattoo! She is a computer hacker and her skills are wanted to move a program called FireFall. It was never going to be that simple though, we are shown flashbacks to her childhood and one day in particular. The twist was pretty obvious (and spoilt in the trailer) and with those flashbacks it wasn't really unexpected at all, which was a big shame really. Lisbeth is supposed to be the woman who makes everything right and makes men suffer who have hurt and abused women.
I think the relationship with Mikael Blomkvist is another thing you are missing if this is your first venture into Salander. I did have a few moments of remembering more, like seeing Millenium magazine covers! It did try hard to keep you on the edge of your seat with some jumpy moments. A chase with Lisbeth on her motorbike and some police cars early on gave me false hope that we would be getting a lot of good action scenes.
Claire Foy seemingly wanting to find a character so far away from Queen Elizabeth II and I think that was achieved as Lisbeth Salander. A character that does not speak too often and most things are based on her attitude and the way she moves around. Another different type of role I really do think Foy is making good choices to ensure she doesn't get typecast. Script wise though she wasn't given a whole lot to work with for this film. I will be interested to see what others think depending on their knowledge of this franchise?
Has this taken away from everything Salander stood for? Making her into a mediocre character? Those are questions I have still been left with!
