Yes, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo only came to American
shores five months ago (it’s still playing in some Portland theaters!)
and the sequel is already here. Naturally, I had to go see it out of
curiosity’s sake. What I got was basically more of the same, but
presented in a much leaner and better-paced film.
First of all, you may remember when I suggested that the rape scenes
in the first half of Dragon Tattoo should’ve been cut. If I
could, I’d like to please retract that statement. Part of what makes
this movie so effective as a sequel is that it uses its predecessor (in
this case, that particular subplot) as a springboard into a completely
new story. The subplot is continued and concluded here in a way that
moved the overall story forward and nicely developed our two main
characters.
On another note, my
Callipygous colleague (happy birthday, dude!) posited that the
original movie used rape as a symbol for abuse of power and suppression
of women. I missed it in the original movie, but it came through in the
sequel loud and clear. The sequel’s catalyst, after all, is an
investigation into underage sex trafficking which implicates several
wealthy and powerful men as clientele. This makes the theme prominent
enough to be noticed, but subtle enough that it doesn’t feel forced.
Brilliant. Unfortunately, this theme brings the side effect of carrying
over the previous movie’s penchant for one-dimensional villains who are
total sexist and rapist fuckheads for no other purpose than to be evil.
Still, I’m glad to say that my primary gripe about the first movie is
pretty much entirely fixed in the sequel. Whereas the first movie felt
like it spent the first half in a low gear before suddenly switching to
high, the second movie starts out slow, but builds in energy much more
gradually. I could actually see the dominoes being set into place with
this one, which made for a much more effective thriller. Of course, it
helps that the movie’s wheels are greased with a few murders, Lisbeth
getting framed for them, consensual lesbian sex, a car chase and a neat
little fistfight that was nicely augmented by the series’ trademark
brutality.
Of course, part of what made the first movie drag is that it was all
about getting Mikael and Lisbeth to that first meeting. This movie has a
similar goal, but goes about it in an entirely different way. See,
instead of teaming up to solve the case, they both work on the same case
independently (more or less) as two separate investigations going
simultaneously. This establishes the eventual meet-up as an end in
itself, rather than as a means to an end, which gives the sequel a
nicely different flavor from its predecessor.
Pretty much everything that made the first movie solid is back here.
Noomi Rapace is still electrifying in the title role, Michael Nyqvist is
still a touch wooden, but certainly less so and still bringing the
intelligence to Mikael. The visuals are still solid and the tension and
intrigue are still palpable, though I’m sorry to say that there were a
few twists and plot points in the sequel that didn’t work.
For example, there’s a character in the sequel (aptly described as “a
blonde tank”) who might have been a decent villain if he didn’t have a
condition that could only exist in a Bond movie. He’s also the subject
of a reveal late in the movie that nearly made my eyes roll out of their
sockets. Speaking of which, there’s a scene late in the movie that gets
Lisbeth into a pretty deep hole. The scene has absolutely zero suspense
and the crisis’ resolution is absurd.
Finally, the sequel is sorely lacking for a satisfactory denouement.
The previous film ended with Mikael getting his due and Lisbeth going
off into the sunset, but this one just… ends. I mean, I’m grateful
that the cliffhanger wasn’t pounded in too hard and I suppose that the
movie didn’t have a lot left to say, but was it too much to ask for two
minutes to see Lisbeth’s name getting cleared and to see what she and
Mikael do afterwards?
The Girl Who Played with Fire has some pretty damning faults
in its last few minutes, which is a shame, because everything up until
that point was very good. On its own merit, the movie is an effectively
paced thriller with an evolving plot that was made easy to follow
without dumbing itself down. As a sequel, the movie excels, building on
its predecessor in a way that enriches both films. Nevertheless, just as
with the previous movie, there’s still a fair bit of room for
improvement in the inevitable remake.
Speaking of which, David Fincher’s remake is moving right along.
Daniel Craig has been locked into the Mikael role and cameras are due to
start rolling in the next few months for a December 2011 release date.
As much as I’d have loved to see Emily Browning take the role of
Lisbeth, Entertainment
Weekly reports that the role’s candidates are down to Rooney Mara
(American), Lea Seydoux (French), Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe
(Australians). The only name I recognize is Mara, who I certainly hope
has been taking acting lessons since the Friday the 13th remake.
Seydoux was apparently somewhere in the bar scene of Inglourious
Basterds, as well.
If this rumor is true, then I’m certainly glad that Fincher is going
with an unknown actress for the role. Additionally, I hope that whoever
gets the role doesn’t have a problem with chain smoking as Rapace does
in the role. I’m not normally a fan of smoking in any way, so I won’t be
heartbroken if the tobacco use is scaled back, but come on: This is the
girl with the dragon tattoo. The girl who plays with fire. It’s only
fitting that she should breathe smoke.
Lisbeth’s casting announcement is due in a couple of weeks. Watch
this space.