Review: "The Girl in the Spider's Web" Fixes the Issues of the Book Yet Still Feels Inessential

Scene from The Girl in the Spider's Web
In 2005, Stieg Larsson published "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" posthumously and created a new phenomenon in protagonist Lisbeth Salander. Here was a woman with a cyber-hacking career and a dark, gritty past that included sexual abuse and some clever revenge fantasies amid a murder mystery that pulled from the bible. To say the least, the book left a mark that spawned a Swedish trilogy and a 2011 American remake. Despite all of this, The Girl in the Spider's Web is the first to be based off of material that had no involvement from the original author, instead pulling from the David Lagercrantz novel of the same name. Like all transitions, there's elements missing such as charm and darkness that would make the novel feel essential. It's why director Fede Alvarez deserves some credit with a film that's likely doomed to be the fifth best Lisbeth Salander movie (until the next one) for making it interesting and, something that the others don't, accessible to audiences. It's not great, but the reinvention doesn't just do its poor source material justice, it improves upon it.
Taking up the mantle for Salander this time is Claire Foy, best known for playing Queen Elizabeth in The Crown. While this may seem like an odd fit for the actress, she still manages to bring a necessary physicality to the role. Unlike the other four adaptations, this is one that feels studio mandated to be an ACTION film first, a MYSTERY story second, and the emphasis on the tropes have to be always present. For a character rooted in rebellious charm, there's something tame about this version and even with Foy's history of great nuanced performances, it's something that is missing here. This isn't to say that there's dramatic reveals, but they're of the conventional kind, and the actors aren't game to make it significant drama. Salander has moved from the annals of cyberpunk icon to the ranks of action hero icons like James Bond or Jason Bourne. For some, this will be enough. For those wanting a deeper story, it's the most sorely missed piece of the puzzle.
It was always going to be a confusing mess making the fourth book in the series feel accessible to general audiences. If going under the assumption that most haven't seen the Swedish films, there's also the reality that David Fincher's Americanized version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is already seven years old, and hasn't been favored with a ubiquitous reputation. Audiences may know Salander from that film, or even the original novel, but what is to keep them from being invested in the conflict between Salander and sister Camilla Salander (Sylvia Hoeks), which becomes more complicated when considering the towering impact that their father had throughout the series but is barely registered here? Camilla is a fine antagonist and The Spiders have a nice gimmick to their villainy. However, nothing matters if nobody has the right tools to comprehend the triumphant conclusion as that: triumphant. It has shock if these characters mean anything to you, but as an entry point it's a bit reaching.
With that said, Alvarez's direction is maybe too good for the film and makes the poor source material pop on the screen. With a piercing classical score by Roque Banos, the action scenes have an intensity to them that are adequate but often feature one or two clever enough moments to warrant the spectacle. Scenes such as Salander riding a motorcycle across the frozen tundra is cool to look at, but the film's enemy is the logic by which Salander existed in. Now she exists in a world where she can hack into any situation so quickly that the N.S.A. would blush. There's also certain actions that don't make sense and exist for plot convenience. Alvarez makes the film look cool and works as a B-Movie spectacle when necessary - even producing some of the franchise's most striking images (some even featured in trailers) that at least suggest that if Lagercrantz's novel was better, this choppy action movie could be one of the funnest, pulpiest female heroines of the decade. 
Instead, the film is doing its best to avoid its cynical existence. Lagercrantz published the book under controversial approval, and the choice to glorify Salander as an icon instead of giving her a great story dampens the appeal of the book. Thankfully, Alvarez knows that audiences want Salander, and he forgoes what is the forgettable half of the story (the journalism) for as long as possible. At the end of the day, he makes it work because what he has created is an action film that would appeal to those thinking that all spies must know how to do hand combat and run away from explosions. This isn't to say that the previous four films lacked some flair, but not to this extent. What The Girl in the Spider's Web is missing is a deeper sense of drama and purpose, which could make Foy more than a thankless actress playing a role that she makes better simply by showing up. With exception to always delightful Lakeith Stanfield as Edwin, the film is lacking a memorable cast, which even then would amp up the memorability of the conventions on display. Still, it's a film that works in the unfortunate shadow that it exists under.
Will the film ever get the respect that it deserves? Odds are that this haphazard attempt to revamp the franchise is more indicative of failure than the 2011 film (which at least had strong box office to back it). There's no appeal to Lisbeth Salander if she's just playing the same old action hero again, but with an actress whose best work is in costume dramas. There's admittedly nothing wrong with the film, but considering that Lagercrantz is no Larsson, it does seem doomed that any future Lisbeth Salander vehicles will be halfhearted on a script level, even with efficient work by Alvarez. One could hope that this franchise doesn't sway audiences to hate the character and see her as something lesser. She used to stand for something greater. The Girl in the Spider's Web tries to right the wrongs of the book by showing us that, but it isn't enough to overcome a story that never felt essential to begin with. 

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