The Girl in the Spider’s Web review: Lisbeth Salander is the action hero we need now

The timing couldn’t be better for the return of Lisbeth Salander, the punky Swedish anti-hero who puts abusive men in their place. Years before the #MeToo movement, the star of late novelist Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy won fans over with her firm independence, open sexuality, and a desire to help women by punishing their male abusers. Now Lisbeth is back in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, based off author David Lagercrantz’s book of the same name, the first book in the series written after Larsson’s death in 2004. With The Crown‘s Claire Foy replacing Kate Mara as Salander, this is a slicker, more crowd-pleasing version of the troubled character, one that has somehow morphed into a full-on superhero over the years.

North American audiences last saw Salander back in 2011 in David Fincher’s The Girl in the Dragoon Tattoo, a dark and moody (read: very Fincher-esque) take on the Millennium series that was meant to launch a trilogy of films. Those subsequent films never materialized, and seven years later the reigns of the renewed franchise have been handed over to director Fede Álvarez, best known for his horror work in films like 2013’s Evil Dead (another reboot) and Don’t Breathe. Álvarez maintains the dark palette and tone of Fincher’s film here, while managing to balance this film’s action-oriented scenes. It’s a bit of a high-wire act, and one that mostly sticks the landing.

In what could easily be the plot of a James Bond or Jason Bourne film, Salander is hired by scientist Frans Balder (the always watchable Stephen Merchant) to steal a piece of software he designed that controls nuclear safeguards around the world. In another sign of the new global vision or the series, the software isn’t in some local mob boss’ safe house but on the server of a US government agency. Salander manages to extract the software remotely, but not before alerting NSA agent Edwin Neeham (a severely underused Lakeith Stanfield) who travels to Sweden to track Salander down. Without delving too deep into spoilers, it turns out there is a familial connection to the hunt for the dangerous software, forcing Salander to confront someone close from her dark past. She’s also saddled with Balder’s young autistic son (a trope that won’t die), a sidekick that holds the answer for unlocking his father’s program.

Rebooting this franchise so many years after the last film was a risky move, but Claire Foy perfectly embodies the essence of Salander, imbuing her with equal parts gusto and vulnerability (and a believable accent).  Even as the film ratchets up the action and espionage elements, Foy manages to keep her version of Salander grounded, without even getting into any hokey action-hero histrionics. So much of Foy’s performance is simply demonstrated via her wide eyes, a nimble touch for an action film of this scope.

Perhaps the strongest element of Larsson’s series was the unlikely friendship between Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist, played by Sverrir Gudnason (replacing Daniel Craig from Fincher’s film), not that you would know it from their relationship here. For characters with such a deep backstory, they look like they just met, and Gudnason has none of the gravitas of Blomkvist — he looks to be about two decades too young for starters, and comes across as a total milquetoast, draining any potential drama out of their long backstory.

Salander’s jump from outing male abusers to chasing down nuclear codes is a bit of a leap, but once you get past that tonal swing The Girl in the Spider’s Web is a totally serviceable action movie, with just enough of Salander’s dark past to keep it grounded in Larsson’s original vision of this world. Far from just being a smart hacker like she was in the initial Fincher film, Lisbeth is essentially a superhero now, out-fighting and out-cunning a series of villains as she rides through the rain-swept streets on her motorcycle (and later, in a very batmobile-like sports car). The supporting cast is great (why not just put Stephen Merchant in everything?) and Álvarez handles the action set pieces well, from a claustrophobic Bourne-like bathroom brawl to the film’s clever third act shootout.

While Salander’s relationship with Blomkvist in this version is surprisingly a washout, that may be an intentional move on the part of the filmmakers — the real emotional beat of the movie comes from Salander dealing with that figure from her past, both of them sharing a tragic bond that has shaped each of their divergent paths over the ensuing years.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web is not a perfect movie, but Foy’s performance and Álvarez’s stylish direction elevate the over-the-top plot and offer up an exciting new take on the character. It may not be what Larrson originally had in mind, but this version of Lisbeth Salander is the action hero we need now.