First Hit: Good film, not as strong as the first of the series, yet interesting enough to be engaging.
Noomi Rapace reprises her role as Lisbeth Salander, "the girl" referred to in the title in the trilogy of films. Michael Nyqvist reprises his role as Mikael Blomkvist the journalist of the Millennium magazine.
Taking off from the first film “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, this film picks up Salander vacationing in a foreign country. She looks rested yet her intensity is still obvious in her eyes as she stops her traveling and heads back to Sweden to take care of some unfinished business.
Upon returning, Salander breaks into her parole officer’s home and reminds him that she still has his number and expects him to continue to write positive reports about her. Her father, whom she set on fire when she was younger, is still alive and now after her by setting her up for murders being committed by his goon a big blond former boxer.
Blomkvist doesn’t believe police reports that Salander has murdered 3 people. He begins to investigate and through a couple of emails learns that Salander is thankful for his belief and help. As Salander makes her way to where her father is living she runs into the protective goon (the big blond man) who beats her.
After awakening she learns he doesn't feel any pain and that this big blond goon is her half-brother. Her father and the goon dispose of Salander but her perseverance has her rising from the grave to kill him. And Blomkvist, he arrives on time to keep her alive.
Rapace is unforgettable on the screen. Whether you watch her walk away naked with her full back tattoo, or hooded and disguised as she quietly sneaks her way across town, she captures the audience’s attention. Blomkvist is not a strong screen presence but plays his character with so much integrity I can’t help but be on his side, no matter what. Jonas Frykberg and Stieg Larsson wrote the screenplay from Larsson’s book of the same title. This story isn’t quite as strong as the first film. Daniel Alfredson directed the film in a way that was well paced and allowed the story to unfold rather than force it.
Overall: A good follow-up from the first film, but the story wasn’t quite as strong as the initial one and so it didn’t quite bowl me over.