A Rapariga Apanhada na Teia da Aranha

Não que eu seja um fã da obra de Fincher (sou um fã dos escandinavos), mas com este esforço, o seu filme assume uma nova qualidade na representação de personagens, estilo e inteligência. A Rapariga Apanhada na Teia de Aranha está cheia de enredos e tematicamente grande, mas tanto Noomi Rapace como Rooney Mara foram Lisbeth mais interessantes do que Claire Foy, e Sverrir Gudnason é mais adequado para As Cinquenta Sombras de Grey do que para o papel de Mikael Blomkvist. Acima de tudo, porém, este thriller tecnicamente bem executado é mais orientado para a ação, centrado em clichés de género e personagens unidimensionais estereotipados, do que em psicologia mais sofisticada e atmosfera nórdica. (17/11/2018)

If I didn't have a weakness for Lisbeth Salander and Claire Foy (and the criminally underused Vicky Krieps), I would rate this film more harshly. I don’t mind that the filmmakers have definitively turned Lisbeth it into a comic book superheroine who treats wounds with superglue, snorts a crushed amphetamine tablet to get up, can move from place to place at lightning speed and needs less time to hack the NSA than to make coffee for an ordinary mortal (Larsson’s trilogy was already headed in this direction). The problem is how they slapdashedly modified the plot to be substantially more layered with multiple perspectives taking into account (and alternating with) the work upon which it is based and the manner of storytelling. Events are connected to each other in a terribly careless and repetitive way, based on the same pattern (someone tries to kidnap/kill someone, that person is captured/escapes and around we go again). Despite signs of psychologisation (Lisbeth’s trauma due to her sister’s betrayal), the characters behave as if they are in a run-of-the-mill action film and their foolish decisions are too frequently not fatal for them due only to fortunate coincidences and magically flawless timing. The visual style, derived from Scandinavian noir and punk as well as S&M aesthetics and merely copying Fincher and Alvarez much more than the slow revealing shots evoking unease and unpleasant feelings (such as the first one after the Bond-esque opening credits), uses fast, chaotic cutting that buries the entire atmosphere. The director is apparently most “at home” during scenes with elements of horror, which make up the only aspect that is not as painfully generic and interchangeable as the rest. I would be glad to see Claire Foy again in the role of Lisbeth Salander, but not in a film that most reminds me of the feminist answer to Crank. 55% (05/11/2018)

Lisbeth Salander returns and is tasked with stealing an NSA program that its creator wants back. Unfortunately, members of a dangerous gang, who know Lisbeth better than she ever imagined, are also interested. The Girl in the Spider's Web is a lot less ambitious than the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and settles for being an entertaining, modern spy thriller with a surprising amount of good action. It's a bit sillier than David Fincher's version, but not boring in the slightest, just different. The two hours in the cinema passed quite pleasantly for me though. (07/11/2018)

Fede Alvarez, the director of the Evil Dead remake and the thriller Don't Breathe, has a go at the action genre with a well-known book and, though I would have been happier if he had stuck to horror, he doesn't put spy action thrillers to shame. I liked Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander and she is unexpectedly deft in the action. Story-wise the film doesn't surprise that much, though there are a few plot twists, but none outright breathtaking, and the action itself is very accomplished, especially the original sniper finale enriched with elements I don't think I've seen before. The contact fights are also good. It's not as good as the Swedish trilogy or David Fincher's version, but the film didn't offend in the cinema and those who are in the mood for a spy action flick shouldn't be downright disappointed. Visually and directorially it was done to perfection. 70% (07/12/2018)

Is Lisbeth Salander the most interesting European heroine of the last decade? Maybe she is and maybe she isn't. However, watching all the attempts to adapt her stories for so many years is quite an ordeal. Noomi Rapace had the trilogy and the series, while Rooney Mara unfortunately only had the American remake of the first part, and now Claire Foy is here with the fourth (!) part. The fact that Hollywood doesn't have a second and third part is pretty funny. Personally, I'm even more amused by the fact that in Noomi Rapace's time Claire Foy was known only as Dickens' Amy Dorrit, which really doesn't make for any consistent career work. So what's next? Will there be a next time? And will any other actresses who are just now creating classic series on the BBC be starring in the fifth series? It would be magical because I long ago stopped believing in the pluses Millennium could offer anyway. And yet the potential of this material is so great. (31/03/2019)