K.T Simpson
Between the books, the Swedish films and the US takes on said books and films, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” franchise certainly has a lot of takes, and thus has a lot to live up to. “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is the fourth book in the series by Stieg Larsson, and the second in the US film franchise – but also serves as a soft-reboot, recasting key characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, played by Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig in “Dragon Tattoo”, respectively.
“Spider’s Web” has Claire Foy in the lead role of Lisbeth, who is on an vengeance mission on behalf of women who have suffered at the hands of men. Her actions are seen to be a reflection of a difficult childhood, in which she and sister Camilla (played by Sylvia Hoeks) have been abused by their father. After escaping the clutches of an abusive household, Lisbeth doesn’t see her sister until the present day, in which she now heads up a crime syndicate. The two come head to head after Lisbeth, as one of the world’s leading hackers, helps Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant) steal back a program he wrote called Firefall from the NSA. Journalist Mikael Blomvist (Sverrir Gudnason) is also back, seemingly to help Lisbeth but really only looking for the topic of his next big piece.
Lisbeth, as a result of nicking Firefall, finds herself getting tracked by the NSA, as well as the Swedish Secret Service – who has ties to sister Camilla.
Sound complicated? That’s because it kinda is. Hacking, abuse, stalking, and some romantic action form the basis of “Spider’s Web”, probably making it a literal spider’s web in terms of plotlines. Of course when you’re basing a film on a book, you’re between a rock and a hard place with plot. So it’s really up to director Fede Álvarez to effectively fill the gaps for the audience. Overall, Álvarez has created a gripping popcorn thriller, worthy of a cinematic viewing. The action comes thick and fast, and Foy is a clear standout as the protagonist, making us all go “Rooney who?!” It’s hard to believe that Foy was impressing in “First Man” very recently, given the massive difference in character.
The setting of the film is stunning and beautiful, adding just that little bit of extra flair and making me encourage you a little bit more to see it on the big screen.
In terms of character development, it feels a bit weak and forced, and it’s difficult – and almost impossible – to form an emotional attachment to anyone in “Spider’s Web”. Despite Lisbeth being front-and-centre of not only this film, but the franchise in general – I feel like we still don’t know her well at all. Is that a massive problem? I guess not, but it also doesn’t have me cheering her on in the near-death experiences bound to come her way.
“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is overall and enjoyable ride, in which it succeeds at entertaining us with quality action scenes and nothing too heavy for a little under 2 hours.
