6/10
The bad news is that this isn't up to the standard of the first film. The good news is that it's still very watchable.
It's tricky adapting a best selling novel (or series of) for the cinema. Stick closely to the original, and you run the risk of making the imaginary too literal; vary from the book and you're accused of vandalism. Like the first film, this one adheres velcro-likes to Stieg Larsson's story, and as a result, there is perhaps too much exposition and narrative, as well as characters who seem less credible on screen than they do on the page - especially the tall blond bad guy who feels no pain.
However, we do still have Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, the one woman revenge machine who has new reasons to be pissed off with men. Her guardian who she thought she had under control is getting ideas of independence, while someone called Zala is out to get her. Meanwhile, our other hero, Mikael Blomqvist is about to publish a story of sex trade trafficking that will implicate important people. Murders are committed, someone is framed, and the two of them (apart for most of the film) have to fight for their survival.
The film's shortcomings are that it is not as skilfully directed as the first. There are too many close ups and occasionally the pace drops unnecessarily. But the political edge to the drama and the leading characters make it far superior to your average American thriller. And in due course, we will get the chance to see what David Fincher will do with the books, when the US version is made. In the meanwhile, Part 3 (the final chapter) will be shown before Christmas. Anyone of the millions of people who have read the books will want to see this. The rest of you may not get what all the fuss is about.
