Friday, February 1, 2019

Quick Reviews: The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

After two silly Films I recommend for a laugh, how about a serious one that failed to make an impact?  Let's jump right in...
In a Cold Open, we see two girls living in a bleak environment.  One of them makes a bold move to escape, leaving the other behind...
In the present, Lisbeth continues her campaign to punish the guilty, getting the better of a wife-beating CEO (in more ways than one).
She's hired by a Scientist to steal his creation, since he fears it being used to start a Nuclear War!
As you can imagine, something this valuable draws the attention of other people- people with guns!

Who are the Spiders?
Lisbeth turns to an old friend for help, as he is facing a need for a subject to cover.  It's a win-win...were it not for the constant threat of death and dismemberment.
As if *that* wasn't enough, her earlier theft brings an American Operative to take her out too.

Can she solve the mystery and survive to tell the tale?  To find out, watch the Film.
Hey- this doesn't suck!  Despite the Trailers and Marketing giving 90% of the Plot away and marketing it as a dumb Action Film, there's more here.  I don't pretend to be an expert here.  I haven't read all of the Books- original and newly-licensed ones.  I haven't watched every Film in the Series.  If that means that my positive Review is meaningless to you, so be it.  With that out of the way, I liked this one quite a lot.  The Pacing was good, it looked nice and the Plot had some nice twists and turns.  Yes, the Marketing gave away the twist- worth mentioning twice.  Lisbeth is treated quite well here, being shown to be both competent, good at planning and...vulnerable?  Yes, she doesn't predict everything and always come out ahead immediately.  She's still the Heroine, but everything doesn't come easily all the time.  It's a tricky balance to get, but I think they nailed it pretty well.  All of the Actors do a good job and I think that the Characters are presented well.  Given that this is a Soft Reboot...or a Sequel to the English Remake...or a Sequel to the 3 Swedish Films, it's still good.  The Film failed to make a profit in Theaters (so it seems), so this may be a one-and-done.  At least this is a complete Story and Film with no Sequel Bait, so I guess it could be worse.  One big plus for the Film- it's weird, James Bond Film-style Opening Credits...
Considering that this follows an American Remake and long wait, this one worked for me.  Put aside your concerns and at least give this a look.

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