The Girl in the Spider's Web review roundup: Claire Foy's film is a 'cross between superhero flick and James Bond'

The Girl in the Spider's Web is based on the book by new author David Lagercrantz who took the series on after the death of Stieg Larsson, the author of the original best-selling trilogy. Here is a review round up of Fede Alvarez’s latest offering to the Millennium franchise. [caption id=“attachment_5445741” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Still from The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Image from Facebook[/caption] Variety noted that the film was too busy trying to portray Lisbeth Salander’s psychological trauma by making external embellishments rather than delving deep within the protagonist’s mindset. In trying to make the narrative gripping, the daily states that the makers made The Girl in the Spider’s Web “commonplace cross between a superhero flick and James Bond.” The film, with its generous dose of “big bang thrills” will in all probability attract the big numbers, but it may not be the best treatment in terms of Salander fans. The Hollywood Reporter seems to have a similar opinion, calling Lisbeth’s character treatment ‘perfunctory’. Th character’s revelations in the narrative, notes the daily, “seems to have lost the traumatic background” which was responsible for the Salander’s wrathful feminist revenge in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. IndieWire lauded Claire Foy’s role as Lisbeth, adding that after her First Man performance, and considering her portrayal in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, it is clear that her range as a performer is admirable. “Lisbeth is never going to be cuddly or sunny, but that doesn’t mean she has to be robotic or impossible to read. That’s something that Foy and Alvarez clearly understand,” added the daily. This treatment, adds the report, gives rise to a heroine that audiences will not only cheer on but also love and be empathetic towards. IGN on the other hand felt that the new addition to the franchise is the most accessible of all “Dragon Tattoo franchise.” Calling the new installment more energetic as compared to the art-house 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, IGN said that the narrative has become more of a “rescue the kid/retrieve the MacGuffin thriller” as compared to the “earlier series’ more mundane procedural aspects.”