This, the second of the 'Millennium Trilogy, sees the return of Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist and if you haven't seen 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' you are likely to be confused as to what is going on as plot details related to events in that film aren't explained. Mikael is working on a story that will expose prominent people who have been complicit in the trafficking of young women and shortly afterwards two people who provided him with key information are killed. The murder weapon has Lisbeth's fingerprints on it and it was stolen from her legal guardian who has also been murdered. The police believe that she did it but Mikael is convinced of her innocence. The two of them end up leading parallel investigations that will lead them to the mysterious 'Zala' who is apparently involved in the trafficking and is closely connected to Lisbeth.
After 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' this instalment feels very televisual and there is less suspense... although this might be down to knowing that the protagonists must survive to appear in the third film! That said if you enjoy TV crime dramas then you should enjoy this too; the story features a suitable amount of action and there are interesting revelations about Lisbeth's background that I didn't see coming. It was also interesting to keep the two protagonists apart until the very end. Noomi Rapace is once again brilliant as Lisbeth and Michael Nyqvist does a fine job as Mikael; a far less showy role. While the story is good there are some distinct flaws; the huge blond unstoppable German seemed rather cliché and I don't see how Lisbeth could survived one encounter that left her not only shot but also buried! Still despite these faults it was well worth watching and left me keen to see how the story ends in 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest'.
After 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' this instalment feels very televisual and there is less suspense... although this might be down to knowing that the protagonists must survive to appear in the third film! That said if you enjoy TV crime dramas then you should enjoy this too; the story features a suitable amount of action and there are interesting revelations about Lisbeth's background that I didn't see coming. It was also interesting to keep the two protagonists apart until the very end. Noomi Rapace is once again brilliant as Lisbeth and Michael Nyqvist does a fine job as Mikael; a far less showy role. While the story is good there are some distinct flaws; the huge blond unstoppable German seemed rather cliché and I don't see how Lisbeth could survived one encounter that left her not only shot but also buried! Still despite these faults it was well worth watching and left me keen to see how the story ends in 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest'.