THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (2009)

Watched: 7/31/2010

Write-ups will be rushed (and probably full of typos!) as I’m desperately trying to catch up! Sorry!!

Basic setup: Blomkvist gets wrapped up in another mystery when things go bad during the investigation of a sex-trafficking ring. Lisbeth Salander gets dragged in when she’s accused of a murder related to Blomkvist’s research. It’s a pretty straightforward mystery that is overcomplicated through the course of the film. Lisbeth is relegated to being a tool to move the story forward and little time, outside of that spent wrapping up the mysterious flashbacks from THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO, is spent on her character and Blomkvist loses much of the depth he had at the beginning of the first movie. So, abandoning most of the fun character work in the first one and a mystery that’s less engaging leaves one with a sequel that’s more tepid than not. It’s a movie that will keep you amused while it’s playing but once you start reflecting upon it starts to fall apart. Here’s hoping the final installment kicks it up a notch.

• 2010 New: 226
• 2010 Re-see: 95
• 2010 TOTAL: 321