Review:
*Originally written November 28th, 2018*
I suppose I might have expected a little too much from this. A sequel to one of David Fincher's masterworks where he did't return and neither did the cast. It's more a soft reboot than a sequel, but I had high expectations with Fede Alvarez chosen to direct. Especially after his solid Evil Dead remake and masterfully tense Don't Breathe.
Sadly, this feels very far removed from the Girl in the Dragon tattoo series that I know. I'd only ever seen the original Swedish film and Fincher's remake. Despite the involvement of Alvarez, a director who thrives with grotesque content and extreme violence and gore, this sequel feels remarkably toned down and different in order to appeal to a much more mainstream audience. It honestly feels more like a James Bond film than what came before. The similarities between this and Spectre are striking.
Fincher's film opened with stylish James Bond knock-off opening credits and this one follows that tradition too, but something just feels off and not right with it. Maybe it was the lack of a memorable song or visuals, and the fact it so brief and didn't fully commit to it. I can't quite pinpoint why that didn't work for me.
What's most disappointing is just how formulaic this all seems. It feels like an extended episode of TV where everything goes where you expect it to. Dragon Tattoo was an exhausting and complex mystery film, whereas Spider's Web feels more like a dumb action film where Lisabeth Salander has to get back an experiment government programme that has been taken by her evil albino sister who now runs a terrorist organisation. It just felt so tonally off from the more grounded and real evil that haunted the previous films.
As disappointing as this was, it does show flashes of genuine tension and enjoyment. Alvarez delivers some really disturbing and weird visuals that can't live up to Fincher, but they do a damn close job at times. As much as the script is an utter mess, the visual style is on point. There's even some decent and creative action scenes, they just lack the visceral brutality the series is known for.
Claire Foy does a good job as Lisabeth, she has the cool, ice cold demeanour with a lot going on there if you know the character, it's just the script fails to explore the character at all, leaving her a bit one-note. Despite the events of what she goes through, by the end of the film she's pretty much the same person and goes through very little development, leaving the whole thing feel a little pointless if they plan to continue this franchise (They won't, this bombed).
Lisabeth's thought dead sister played by Sylvia Hoeks was just ridiculous. She looked and felt like some comic-book villain with an anime character look. It's just completely out of place in this world. I just don't know what the hell they were thinking. Despite being such a prominent part of the marketing, she doesn't even really appear properly until the last 20 minutes and completely derails every scene she's in.
I was at least pleasantly surprised to see British comedian Stephen Merchant appear in his first fully dramatic role and was not just the comic relief, which I feared when I saw his name in the credits. His role is brief, but he actually does a really good job at drama. I'd really love to see him star in his own drama series at some point and see how he does there.
While The Girl in the Spider's Web is very much a letdown in many regards, it's still perfectly decent and watchable thriller that shines when Alvarez's style is allowed to shine through, it's just a shame its hampered by such a inane and silly script that feels tonally off from anything that's come before this. Since this is isn't doing so well, I'd say the best thing they can do is once again reboot this series and return to the dark horror its known for.
6/10 Dans
The Girl in the Spider's Web is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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Letterboxd: Dan
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