The Girl In The Spider's Web

Some franchises are just luckier than others and it’s not often quite clear why that is. Audience interest doesn’t necessarily compare with the quality or success of the corresponding books or the production value, critical consensus or advertising of the film in question. Just ask the Divergent series which flopped whilst its flavour of the month competitor The Hunger Games boomed (albeit a very worthy winner in this instance.) Steig Larsson’s Millennium series is an unlucky one. An extremely well received and well adapted Swedish version was criminally underseen before an all singing, all dancing, David Fincher directed and Daniel Craig starring remake, complete with Bond-esque title sequence, again passed everyone by despite being one of the best English language remakes of recent times. Attempt three makes an auspicious appearance in cinemas after very little fanfare and, in what must be one of the more bizarre decisions in cinema, is an adaptation of a fourth instalment in the Millennium franchise written after Larsson’s passing but ‘in his style’ much like what a few have done with Bond in literature recently. Despite this, it’s largely a triumph but again is destined for the bargain bins of the world. An enticing prologue which sets up its famously macabre themes is followed by another Bond-esque credits sequence and Director Fede Álvarez is clearly going for a dark and gritty 007 feel with this film. It’s a high stakes, world ending Macguffin which drives a fast and winding, yo-yo-ing plot of cat and mouse which features car chases, stealth and gadgets. That’s maybe not quite in keeping with the tradition of the Millennium series which is more thrills, taboos and retribution but it fits it well here. Claire Foy is brilliant as Lisbeth Salander (the discussion over who plays her best is an interesting and close one) and the Scandinavian flavour to the colour scheme and cinematography lends it a high-class feel. It’s an interesting way to take the series and, at times, it feels like we’re missing the two films which should slot in prior to this (some plot details of which get discussed) but overall a well made, well plotted thriller with one of modern literature’s best lead characters. 4 stars ****