The Girl Who Played With Fire

It's been over a year since journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander solved a decades-old murder and Lisbeth departed Stockholm without a trace. Now, the double homicide of Mikael's colleague Dag and Dag's girlfriend - who were investigating a sex-trafficking ring - implicates Lisbeth as the killer. A frightened and confused Mikael vows to protect his friend and former lover no matter what - and uncovers devastating and deadly secrets of Lisbeth's past.

As both a book and film, "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is second in a trilogy. Readers and viewers alike will cheat themselves of the complex history between Mikael and Lisbeth, not to mention the nuances of both individual characters, by starting smack in the middle. However, for fans of the book series and the first film, "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is a tightly-paced treat. As with its predecessor "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," the film adaptation cuts meaningless details Larsson was so fond of, such as who ate what for dinner, in favor of essential character drama and plot twists.

Michael Nygvist once again shines as hedonistic, inquisitive Blomkvist, but it is Noomi Rapace who is the real star. Her Lisbeth is twitchy, hyper-observant, and damaged yet empowered. One of my biggest fears about the American remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is that the sheer brutality of the series will be glossed over, and Lisbeth's revenge seen as over-the-top and psychotic. Because if it's not shown just how men hate women, how can a woman's revenge be fully understood?

DVD special features are almost non-existent - a theatrical trailer and English-dubbed version - but with a story this well-told, you won't miss the extras.

Movie: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 1 Yap