Girl Who Played With Fire, the - Ignites  
| I really enjoyed the Swedish film adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. It was one of those films that made me wonder why an American remake is necessary. The film already feels like an American populist pot-boiler. It has all the traditional elements to keep you on your seat; danger, drama, sex crimes and just enough mystery to keep you hooked. It's structured like the popular crime/mystery shows that populate American cable TV.
So I was eager to see the follow up and more adventures with the mysterious Lizbeth and Blomkvist. I may not have been a fan of how this series fetishizes violence towards men through the guise of vengence/justice for violence against women, but as a mystery/thriller it worked. Not of the level of the masterful The Secrets in Their Eyes, but it worked.
I think The Girl Who Played With Fire is an even more enjoyable film. Again, this is fairly standard pot-boiler stuff, based on the kind of books they sell at airports for easy and titillating distractions. But as far as this genre goes, it is good stuff and the film does what a good sequel does; builds on the original, taking it to new places that enrich the story and characters instead of just repeating the same formula. Basically for those who like the first film, the second will satisfy. Now I am ready for the third.
I thought Noomi Rapace (awesome name!) came more alive in this film. In the first her performance was jagged and jerky. Here she seems to inhabit her character better. This is more her film than the first. Michael Nyqvist, who has leading man dripping from his pores, is relegated to just being in the background, caring and waiting to save the day. I guess that's fair since he was saved by Lizbeth last time. I guess he's the counterbalance to show that not all men are evil bastards.
The Girl Who Played With Fire doesn't end as conclusively as The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. This one is designed to really hook you into seeing what happens next. Let's kick the hornet's nest and find out.
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