Starring Claire Foy and Lakeith Stanfield
Directed and Co-Written by Fede Alverez
US Release Date: November 9th, 2018
My First Viewing: November 7th, 2018
Claire Foy is Lisbeth Salander: The Girl who Hacks and Kicks Ass...and Makes Questionable Decisions
Seven years after the English language remake of the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sony pictures have revived the series by skipping the second two books in the series, replacing the cast, as well as bringing in Fede Alverez (Evil Dead '13, Don't Breathe) to replace David Fincher. Now three years after the events of Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) is the girl who punishes men who abuses women, and she still hacks computers and kicks ass. After the creator of a computer program that is designed to take control of nuclear weapons across the globe wants his program back so it can be shut down, Salander is caught in a cat and mouse game that involves murder, set-ups, and cool explosions. While the film works as a very stylized, well-acted action film, if you go in expecting what you saw in the previous installments, you may leave disappointed.
What Works
Claire Foy: Coming off her stellar work on The Crown and the Oscar buzz she has garnered for First Man, Foy gives it her all as Salander. While she is showing a different side of the character than what we got from Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara, Foy is electric whenever she is on screen.
Lakeith Stanfield: Stanfield plays NSA agent Edwin Needham, who arrives in Sweden trying to apprehend Salander after she is wrongfully accused of stealing the aforementioned computer software. Needham and Salander make a solid no-nonsense duo (with a few moments of levity), but I wish he had a bigger role in the film.
Fede Alverez's direction and Cinematography by Pedro Luque: This is the third major motion picture for Alverez, who had Luque on as his cinematographer for all three. In an era where other directors like Denis Villeneuve and Damien Chazelle are (deservingly) getting a lot of buzz, Alverez has proven to be a successful stylistic director who knows how to make a good looking film.
What Doesn't Work
The Script: While the film looks good, the screenplay gives us nothing to really sink our teeth into. The story offers nothing surprising, and the reveals of who is pulling the strings are predictable. Salander has been such an interesting character, and while Foy gives it her all, it ultimately falls flat.
Wasting Vicky Krieps: Coming off of her stellar role in last year's Phantom Thread, Krieps is given a side role as Erika Berger, who is the side piece of Mikael Bloomkvist, and is only on the screen for just a few understated scenes. This is a throw-away role for a great actress who I could have seen as a more integral role (no spoilers).
My Grade: B
Spider's Web is a pretty good film that could have been better with some recasting and a better script. See the film if you like a good looking action-thriller, but don't expect what you have seen in previous Dragon Tattoo entries.
What are you thoughts? Are you excited to see this on opening weekend? Follow me on instagram and leave a comment in the post. I am also working on a 100-film challenge and I am looking for your suggestions. Check out my letterboxd and leave a comment with you suggestion.
-birb
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