The Girl Who Played with Fire

The actress gets immeasurable help from the writing: Lisbeth's anger is matched by her intelligence and her physical prowess, which enables her to administer as well as absorb pain in megadoses. But none of it would register without Ms. Rapace's singular combination of eerie beauty and feral intensity. She's a movie star unlike any other.

I found The Girl Who Played With Fire more gripping than "Dragon Tattoo," because this one doesn't just play with thriller conventions -- it puts them to work.

Relentless suspense allows The Girl Who Played With Fire to hold you in a viselike grip. But it's the performances of Nyqvist and especially Rapace that keep you coming back for more.

Director Daniel Alfredson grounds the mystery in a real sense of place: his Stockholm looks and feels like a major city where corruption lurks behind attractive facades. The reporter character is better developed than in the first movie, but most of the supporting characters from the book have been shrunk to little more than walk-ons.

A passable popcorn movie, but fans of the first film who expect lightning to strike twice are liable to get burned.

Those who've read and loved the book should be satisfied, but it's reasonable to hope for more from the final entry.

Almost without exception, the men are either sickening deviants or wise mentors while the ladies tend to be kickboxing hipsters or victims of sexual abuse (many are both).

Faithful to the book, this film offers tense, gritty thrills. It also suffers, as does the novel, from the fact that Lisbeth and Mikael don't have the direct interaction they had in "Dragon Tattoo." Very much feels like part 2 of a trilogy, but leaves me enthused for film no. 3. I love the fact that these characters have physical flaws . . . can you imagine Jennifer Aniston appearing on film with even one enlarged pore?

You can tell when someone else is directing. The second installment of 'Millennium' begins with some difficulties. The film initially feels like a B-movie: the cinematography is weaker, the script has uneven moments, and the direction occasionally struggles to carry the story. However, as the narrative progresses, these shortcomings are partially mitigated, achieving greater coherence and effectiveness. Still, the overall cinematography remains the Achilles’ heel of this installment. Interestingly, even with a three-hour runtime, it is impossible to fully convey the complex plot of the book in detail. This issue is not solely due to the length, but largely stems from how the narrative elements are structured. Nonetheless, the film manages to be faithful, engaging, and interesting, providing a clearer understanding of the hidden crimes and offenses. The soundtrack effectively reinforces the tone and context, enhancing the atmosphere of tension and drama. Most performances remain solid, although the secondary characters lack charisma and do not stand out as much as in the first film. Noomi Rapace once again dominates the screen, with a more prominent presence than Michael Nyqvist. The chemistry between them is palpable, despite their limited shared screen time. 'Millennium 2' does not reach the excellence of its predecessor and may seem less visually appealing. Yet it remains effective, entertaining, and compelling enough to keep viewers engaged throughout its three-hour runtime.

Pretty good follow up to Dragon Tattoo with a thrilling ending though still quite confronting.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009): Interesting origin story, but the crime solving half of the story is fairly dull. The film also uses a lot of repetition from first movie, a sign of weak story telling.

Il est dommage de constater que cette suite conserve le grand dÃfaut du prÃcÃdent, à savoir une mise en scène trop scolaire et quelque peu plate. Et même, le rÃsultat final donne l'impression que ce MillÃnium 2 est en rÃalità un simple tÃlÃfilm, n'ayant pas eu de prise de risque question mise en scène, avec une ambiance qui a rÃgressà par rapport au premier. NÃanmoins, ce (tÃlÃ)film possède encore bien des atouts comme son casting (Noomi Rapace et Michael Nyqvist en tête), la bande son en adÃquation avec l'univers du film et il y a suffisamment de suspense pour que MillÃnium 2 tienne en haleine jusqu'au bout. Un bon polar, en somme!