I love me the Millennium Series. Like, a lot. They are wonderfully-character-driven mysteries with arguably one of the most engaging protagonists ever committed to ink. You understand why they were adapted for the big screen both in America and Sweden, and you understand why Hollywood would try to take another crack at it after several years of dormancy.
But there is one snag: The source material. When original author Stieg Larsson passed, so did his very distinct voice, and his characterizations of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist also changed substantially. Blomkvist became less of a lady’s man and Salander lost her damaged nature, and instead became almost a caricature of herself. Sadly, it’s the first book NOT written by Larsson that was adapted for The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Will this problem carry over to the film?
There are currently three reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and as it stands…yes, it does seem to be a problem. Here’s a bit from IndieWire:
“At least the convoluted story allows for the introduction of characters both new and returning, including Sverrir Gudnason as journalist/love interest Mikael Blomkvist, Lakeith Stanfield as an NSA heavy with his own mission, and Sylvia Hoeks as a grown-up Camilla. Still, the contrivances that bring them together become more grating as the film winds on, and at least one of them devolves into a superhero-esque baddie before the film’s final confusing revelations.”
The film seems to be fast-paced, but it often seems to come at the expense of having a sensical story — at least in the eyes of this critic. But it’s the THR review that has my interest piqued:
“Perfunctory in its psychological realism and flagrantly lacking any other kind, the screenplay by Alvarez, Jay Basu and Steven Knight is certainly not the most satisfying version of Lisbeth. But it is edgy and action-packed, and Alvarez’ direction keeps the tension high through a slew of ever-more-improbable threats to Lisbeth and her allies. In the end, her character is so invincible she feels unreal as a human personality. For one thing, she has lost the traumatic background of abuse that made her credible as an angry feminist revenger in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It’s also perplexing to discover she has a sister (Sylvia Hoeks) whom she left behind when she escaped from their father, a Russian crime lord.”
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Earlier on in the review, it highlights Salander’s backstory that downplays her previous rape and her “more advanced IT skills” (I thought she was damn good already!), kind of highlighting the concern I had about making her too much of a superhero. They also went on to compare it to James Bond. It’s not a bad comparison, but not one I was hoping for.
Finally, the Variety review seems to hit the nail right on the head regarding my concerns, kind of summing up the other two in one clean opening paragraph:
“It was probably inevitable that Hollywood would neuter the best elements of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” franchise, but did the producers really need to shift it into a commonplace cross between a superhero flick and James Bond? David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” tried hard to balance the Swedish films’ sensitivity to protagonist Lisbeth Salander’s severe psychological trauma with broad box office appeal, but “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” — based on the novel by Larsson’s successor David Lagercrantz — is more vested in fiery external explosions than internal pain, reducing Salander to a quirky Batgirl-like figure, soft-pedaling her feminism, practically eliminating her queerness, and tossing in an American so the U.S. can save the world. Director Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe) delivers some big-bang thrills in a slick production that will do hefty business, but for Salander fans, this entry feels like a betrayal.”
This is incredibly disappointing, to say the least. But given how terribly Fincher’s portrayal performed at the box office, maybe making this one more accessible and less tormented could result in the character having longer lasting appeal in the mainstream. I may hate it, but it could result in something more palatable than the film that was being advertised as the “feel bad movie” of Christmas.
If there is one other silver lining, it’s that actress Claire Foy’s portrayal of Lisbeth Salander is praised, even if the script doesn’t do her as much service as Fincher’s.
Will you still be seeing this movie? Let us know down below!