“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” (R)
Lisbeth Salander is back on the big screen after a seven-year absence in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A new Dragon Tattoo Story,” a sequel of sorts to the critically acclaimed but financially disappointing “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”
Despite the star power of Rooney Mara (who earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination) as Lisbeth and Daniel Craig as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, the David Fincher-helmed crime thriller clearly didn’t excite Sony Pictures enough to move forward and adapt the final two books in late Swedish author Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy; yet the studio found a way to revive the franchise with completely new faces in front of an behind the camera. As a result, movie fans are getting a soft reboot with “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” based on the 2015 novel by David Lagercrantz that continues Lisbeth’s story where Larsson left off.
With “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” “The Crown” star Claire Foy assumes the mantle of Lisbeth Salander, who remains haunted by the abusive father and the sister held captive by him after she managed to escape from their massive estate. A survivor of sexual abuse herself (which she exacted revenge for in “The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo”), Lisbeth continues to be a vigilante for women who have suffered a similar fate, as well as continues to use her brilliant mind to hack into a government computer to recover nuclear launch codes that could mean the end of the world if they fall into the wrong.
Yes, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” has the gritty feel and the twists and intrigue of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” but ultimately, with its hyperkinetic action and high-tech ambitions, it feels more like a James Bond adventure … without Daniel Craig. Perhaps that’s why they couldn’t lure Craig back to the franchise, because it’s too much like a James Bond film, and a faded version of 2011’s “Dragon Tattoo” that couldn’t quite find enough steam to launch a lucrative movie series.
Lammometer: 6 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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