Film Review: "The Girl in the Spider's Web" (2018).

"The Past Never Forgets" in The Girl in the Spider's Web. This crime thriller film directed by Fede Álvarez, adapted by Álvarez, Steven Knight, and Jay Basu, based on the novel of the same name by David Lagercrantz, and based on characters by Stieg Larsson. The film acts as both a soft-reboot and a sequel to David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), as well as the second installment in the American-produced Millennium film series. Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

In December 2011, the creative team behind The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) planned to film The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, "back to back" with a 2013 release date. By August 2012, it was delayed due to rewrites by Andrew Kevin Walker. The following year, Fincher stated that a script for the sequel had been written and that it was "extremely different from the book," and that despite the long delay, he was confident that the film would be made given that the studio had "already has spent millions of dollars on the rights and the script". Though contractually signed on to reprise her role, Mara was less optimistic about the production of the sequels. In November 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Sony was planning to develop The Girl in the Spider's Web instead. In the same month, it was announced that Fincher, Mara, and Daniel Craig would not be returning for this film. Knight was announced to be in talks to adapt the novel. It was reported that Felicity Jones and Alicia Vikander were being considered for the role of Salander. In November 2016, Variety reported that Sony was in negotiations with Álvarez to direct. In March 2017, it was announced that production was set to begin in September 2017. In May, it was reported that Claire Foy was the frontrunner to replace Mara. In September, Foy was officially cast in the film. By December, Sverrir Gudnason, LaKeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks, Stephen Merchant, Vicky Krieps, and Cameron Britton were cast. In January 2018, Principal photography began, and ended in April. Locations included Berlin, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden.

The film stars Foy, Gudnason, Stanfield, Hoeks, Merchant, Krieps, and Britton. The cast gave terrific performances despite not quite living up to their roles, in particular Foy. While Foy can play the titular character as well as Noomi Rapace and Mara, her particular incarnation leaves her marooned in situations that are characterized by too little tension and too much nonsense.

Director Álvarez manages to inject some new life into The Girl in the Spider's Web with wonderful action set pieces, but otherwise the film is a bore. The script is exceptionally tiresome and hard-to-swallow. Once again, certain standby plot elements - the high-level government corruption, the bad-ass, law-breaking heroine, and her personal connection to the antagonist - are recycled, and not to good effect.

Simon says The Girl in the Spider's Web receives:

Also, see my reviews for Don't Breathe and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).