Swedish author Stieg Larsson died in November 2004. It took several years for his phenomenally successful trilogy about an unusual young woman named Lisbeth Salander to be published. The books sold 60 million copies posthumously. Lisbeth became an icon to those of us who could not put those books down. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, were made into films and went on to gross over $700 million worldwide.
While the stories themselves are exciting, adventurous and well written, make no mistake that the reason for their success is the “Girl.” She may well be the most compelling fictional character to come along since Jason Bourne. Unlike Bourne, she is totally unpredictable and in every way just as dangerous. Naomi Repace starred as “The Girl” in the movie trilogy and was sensational portraying a character I didn’t think could be adequately portrayed on screen.
And now there is a re-boot about this amazing woman, played by Claire Foy. Ms. Foy has taken off her tiara from the TV series The Crown, and replaced it with the persona of Lisbeth Slander, opposite extremes of the universe. I was curious to see how she would adapt to this role, albeit she is a fine actress in every sense of the word.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Entertainment Rating: ★ 1/2
Rating: R: limited profanity, action and death scenes
Possible Oscar Nominations: None
Foy stepped up to the plate and did an adequate job portraying our “heroine.” Unfortunately, the script writers, director, and anyone else involved in the behind the scenes activity were less than adequate. The plot was particularly weak, jumping from one misunderstood moment to another. Several of the central figures were never clearly defined, and one of them I couldn’t even comprehend his role in the story until the last scenes.
The plot revolves around some bad guys trying to get information to either gain financially or destroy the world; I could never figure it out. The problems were compounded by the phony Swedish accents everyone used, making it difficult to understand half of what was said, so if someone did reveal the actual reasons for what they were doing, it passed over my head and many others in the theater – more on that.
Finally, while Claire Foy did an adequate job in her role, the Lisbeth Salander portrayed was not the same Lisbeth Salander her fans are expecting. In the trilogy, she was always in command and even when faced with adversity, she survived the most serious moments unscathed. Her motorcycle skills remain unparalleled and did provide some great moments. However, unlike the original stories, she was often being chased as opposed to doing the chasing, and at times the bad guys got the upper hand on her, and that, for her fans, is unacceptable.
There were a dozen or so people in the theater. When the lights came on, folks were kind of standing around looking at each other, and as if on cue, everyone raised their hands up and gave a thumbs down. That response was well earned.
