‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ Film Review: Claire Foy’s Lisbeth Salander Adventure Trades Angst for Espionage

Based on a novel that’s not in the original trilogy, this crackerjack adventure values spy-stuff over character

The Girl in the Spider's Web
Reiner Bajo/Sony

The world-famous Swedish vigilante hacker Lisbeth Salander is back, and this time she’s saving the world from nuclear annihilation. It’s a bit of a shift for Salander; when last we saw her in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” she was solving serial murders and exacting painful revenge on abusive male accountants.

In Fede Alvarez’s “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” she’s stealing from the NSA, surviving explosions in bathtubs and getting in a whole bunch of car chases. It’s like if “Goldfinger” was the sequel to “Psycho.” It may be undeniably cool to watch, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a tonal Crazy Ivan.

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