The Girl Who Played with Fire

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Good movie

The second section of a trilogy is usually the most unsatisfying. The loose ends of the first installment, in this case the superb  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Blu-ray ] are mostly tied up, but by the second part the larger theme, in this case misogyny, is opened up and awaits resolution in the final episode.In this work we realize that "the Girl" is far more than just a supporting character in a journalist's investigation of a family mystery. The girl is Lisbeth Salander, brilliant, sneaky, sexually ambiguous, and brave. She is both the victim of unspeakable crimes and the avenger of those crimes. The original title of the manuscripts for all three novels was "Men Who Hate Women". In that context we see that Salander is everywoman, at least every woman who has ever been treated unjustly by men. The form of that injustice can be physical, economic, sexual, or judicial. Salander is victimized by all four her tale careens wildly as she addresses each persecution with steely determination.Noomi Rapace is brilliant as the girl. It is difficult to imagine how Hollywood who has started filming its own version of the trilogy can find an actress so perfectly suited for the role, one which requires edginess, youth, and total believability. Mikael Blomkvist (moodily played by Michael Nyqvist) is still around, but he is no longer at the center of the storm.The sexual violence of the first installment is abated. This will make it an easier view than the disturbing scenes in part one for some. However, the violence was not gratuitous, and certainly not salacious. It plays a critical role in the plot and the development of what is to come. For those who can't stand subtitles, the DVD has a dubbed English track. Personally I was so captured by this film, that the subtitles were not a distraction. One of the big complaints about the novels has been that Stieg Larrson used too much exposition and not enough dialog to move the plot. That spareness of words has transferred well to the screen.Finally this movie is gorgeous in Blu-ray. The crisp Swedish winter has dissolved into a glorious spring. It is the perfect setting for Salander's rebirth as an avenging angel.

This is the second movie out of the Millennium Trilogy. Middle movies often have difficulties, since they end "in media res." That, of course, describes the second of the three works on Stieg Larsson's trilogy. However, this movie is still quite effective on its own merits.For one thing, the character of Lisbeth Salander has been developed. And she is the focal point of this movie. Noomi Rapace continues her splendid acting in the role. She is not as tiny as the character described in the book (four feet eleven inches tall and about ninety pounds), but she seems to me to capture the character of Salander. She is coldly efficient when taking on people whom she deems "bad" or not leaving her in peace or men who hate women. That is exemplified here in her treatment of one of the "johns" who had been identified by a team--Dag and Mia (boyfriend-girlfriend)--who were in their separate ways examining sex trafficking in Sweden. And of her sanguinary meeting with the two bikers of Sweden's Hell's Angels "wannabes."The story itself focuses on the murder of Dag and Mia--and of lawyer Bjurman, who was Salander's "guardian." She had been deemed incompetent many years before and was still caught in the system. When her former guardian, Palmgren, was felled by a stroke, Bjurman took over. He was hardly an impartial overseer. In the first movie, Salander had "neutralized" Bjurman. She had a powerful motive to kill him. Indeed, in the end, with her fingerprints on the gun that had killed all three people, she became wanted as the killer.The book moves ahead from that premise. Her former lover and friend, Mickael Blomkvist, believes her to be innocent and sets out to try to find the real killer. They had not seen one another for a year and their communication is limited to e-mail and other indirect communication.The movie speeds forward (it hardly seems to be over two hours long) to her inevitable confrontation with her father and a blonde giant who feels no pain (her taser has little effect on him). Her poignant e-mail message to Blomkvist as she headed off to face her father is powerful: "Thank you for being my friend." She "comes back" from the dead, having been severely wounded and left for dead. Her survival is somewhat improbable, but the touching meeting between her and Blomkvist at the end is powerful indeed. Palmgren is never identified as her former guardian (if you have read the books, you know who he is). This movie is closer to the book than the first, but that is not a matter of importance for either. They are both true to the spirit of the book and the key characters. A minor annoyance: At times the English subtitles are hard to read, as they are in light shading and when the screen is light, too, it's a bit tough to read--but, not a major issue.The ending is powerful, leaving us to wonder what is to be the fate of Lisbeth and how the conspiracy to imprison her because of her father's value to the secret service of Sweden is to end. A worthy sequel to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

I'm on book five even though the original author is deceased. Big fan.

After watching the first Swedish version of these stories I was ready for more. This one is subtitled in English and spoken in Swedish. Sometimes subtitles move too fast for me, but that was not the case in this movie. Swedish is spoken at a speed that translates to English at a pace that even a slow reader can keep up with. Again, Rapace was great and the story moved swiftly with many of the same actors in the same roles. Needless to say, I enjoyed it and was ready for chapter 3 in the series.

Just not as good as the other Lisbeth movies, the pace is so slow and not much showing of her tech abilities. I will watch the next one, hopefully it will be better, but I'll wait until it's free. 🌻🇺🇲🐆

No holds barred thriller. Some really nasty sadistic scenes, right up there with Game of Thrones. Great characters, relationships, settings, costumes, etc.

One video of a trilogy. Be sure to view them in order. I think this is number two of the three.

Well worth the watch if you don't want to plough through the book first. I did read it before I bought this and, though the film doesn't have all the wonderful detail of the book, it's a very true adaptation. Don't expect to see the equivalent of Rooney Mara or Daniel Craig and be ready for slightly sloppy dubbing into English if you select the English audio version. It does give the option of English subtitles but I find it too much to watch and read at the same time. It also gives the option of the original Swedish audio but my Swedish is non-existent. Worth having bought it and it will come out again in the future.

Item shipped promplty and was received in good condition.I've read the trilogy before watching the movies. and it made the understanding of a few scenes easier.Good sweedish littérature and movies. I recommend both.The movies feature mostly ordinary looking people and not much strikingly handsome stars.Plot is elaborated, there is action, suspense, some unlikely twists and turns, the heroes suffer and the villains finally get it.To watch it in Sweedish with English subtitles provides an exotic ambiance.

ミレニアムの話は本当はこの話から、始まる。リスべットの苦痛に満ちた人生があきらかにされるが、運命と果敢に戦うリスベットがむっちゃ男前である。リスベットの戦いに時間を忘れて見入ってしまった！

Great sequel but not as good as first.