Film Review: The Girl In The Spider’s Web

The Girl In The Spider’s Web is a strange beast when it comes to the world of franchise filmmaking. It’s a kinda-sorta sequel/kinda-sorta reboot to David Fincher’s 2011 adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, despite being based on the fourth book in the Millennium series, which also happened to be the first one to be written by another writer since series creator, Stieg Larsson, has long passed. The 2011 film didn’t even do that well to begin with, and none of the cast members have returned.

In my own experience I’ve liked the 2011 film quite a bit, and I also liked the three Swedish adaptations of the books, none of which I’ve read, admittedly. I can’t say I loved any of these films, or have any kind of special attachment that would make me concerned about this new film, but I consider them fairly smart and lurid thrillers that have a distinctive vibe.

In this film, Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) is hired by Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant) to steal a program that can be used to access nuclear launch codes, but things quickly take a turn when Lisbeth is attacked, and she becomes targeted by a number of people, including local authorities, an American NSA agent, Ed Needham (LaKeith Stanfield), as well as Camilla (Sylvia Hoeks), the head of a crime syndicate, who is tied to Lisbeth’s past.

Much has been said about the wildly different approach that director, Fede Álvarez, and his co-writers, Jay Basu and Steven Knight, have taken with this. Comparisons have been made to the likes of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and even Batman, as the opening – which has been thrown almost entirely in its trailers – ends with the sleazy businessman hanging upside-down, piss streaming down his head, and crying out, “who are you?” It’s almost impossible to imagine anyone other than the caped crusader showing up at that point.

But jokes aside, those comparisons are warranted. The threat of nuclear codes seems like something that is way out of Lisbeth’s league, and framing her as this action hero does seem to go at odds with what the previous films have built her up. It also makes the story fall a bit on its generic side of things, since the previously grisly sensibilities have mostly been traded in for sleek car chases and shootouts. It’s a strange choice given how Álvarez’s last two films, Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, relished in their grittiness. He still brings some nice stylistic flourishes to keep things engaging, even if it seems like he’s in a constant push-pull between sticking to Fincher’s general aesthetics and doing his own thing.

Like I said, I’m not particularly attached to this material, so I don’t care if changes are made. And while some of the creative choices are questionable, I think it works because the characters remain compelling, and despite the seemingly end-of-the-world stakes with the launch codes, the focus is kept intimate and personal. The film deals a lot with Lisbeth coming to terms with her past, and how it informs who she became. It’s not a lot, but there’s enough, and Claire Foy is effortlessly able to elevate what’s on the page into some compelling psychological drama. It also helps to have supporting players like Merchant, Hoeks, Sverrir Gudnason (who plays Mikael Blomkvist), and Stanfield in particular, who are more than willing to dig their teeth into the material.

The Girl In The Spider’s Web isn’t great, but I think it’s a fairly serviceable action thriller, elevated by a great filmmaker and top notch casting. I do think the film could’ve been better, especially given what Foy was trying to bring in, I also wish Álvarez was able to lean on his horror roots more, but as is, it’s not bad. It’s decently entertaining, it’s got some solid character work, thrilling action sequences, and while it may not have been what anyone really wanted out of it, it’s plenty functional and entertaining on its own terms.