Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, January 27
    Trending
    • This Day in History on January 27th
    • History Short: Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on January 26th
    • History Short: Who is the Octomom?
    • This Day in History on January 25th
    • History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh
    • Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Arts & Entertainment»Cinema & TV»November 7, 2018: Major Action Thriller, The Girl in the Spider’s Web Movie Review
    Cinema & TV

    November 7, 2018: Major Action Thriller, The Girl in the Spider’s Web Movie Review

    Major DanBy Major DanNovember 7, 2018Updated:June 8, 2020No Comments7 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    The Girl in the Spider’s Web

    A Brief History

    On November 7, 2018, movie fans in the United States have only 2 more days to wait for the next movie in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo cinematic series, this time The Girl in the Spider’s Web.  The first film landed an Oscar (Academy Award) for Best Film Editing and other nominations for Academy Awards and was well received by critics and audiences.  This time around, we have a new star in the title role and a different director (Fede Álvarez), but not to worry, in our estimation this new film based on the Millennium novel series by Swedish author Stieg Larsson and continued by David Lagercrantz is even better than Dragon Tattoo.  This new film features relentless action, shooting, stabbing, fighting, explosions and nifty gadgets.  Action-Adventure fans take note!  (As always, we do not reveal spoilers, so do not be afraid to read on.)

    Digging Deeper

    The title character is Lisbeth Salander, ably played by Claire Foy (First Man, Unsane, Breathe, The Lady in the Van), taking over the role from the acclaimed performance by Rooney Mara.  Lisbeth is a tomboyish waif of a girl that is deadly serious in the Punisher sort of way, with a simmering, nonchalant sort of indifferent sexuality.   If you are the sort that enjoys films such as the Punisher movies, Taken, Daredevil, Elektra, Mission Impossible, and are a fan of strong, fierce women (think Elektra, Salt, Lara Croft, or Carrie on cable television’s Homeland) you will love this movie.  If you like the Mission Impossible electronics and gadgets, the wizardry of television’s MacGyver, the action and computer manipulation of television’s 24, clever safe houses and high tech spy gear, then this movie is for YOU!  This time around we get the backstory of Lisbeth and her motivation for becoming a consummate hacker and electronics magician while somehow learning the skills to become a super-ultra bad-ass woman on a mission.

    Foy at an event for First Man in 2018

    The Girl in the Spider’s Web takes the title character through her life on the fringes of society, darting in and out as needed to accomplish her mercenary and altruistic missions.  We find out early on how she got to be the way she is, and her troubled family life.  The plot takes her into serious international intrigue as the computer control system of nuclear weapons is hacked and stolen and in danger of falling into the “wrong” hands.  Although set in Sweden, the US gets into the action when fired NSA (National Security Agency) computer analyst Frans Balder (played by Stephen Merchant) who created the computer program in the first place travels to Sweden in a desperate attempt to prevent enemies of peace from getting his nuclear weapons program.  (No explanation is given for how a computer nerd, former hacker at that, has developed super-spy James Bond type skills and mastery of weapons and spy craft.  The real NSA is not some sort of Special Forces/CIA mash-up, but movies insist on trying to make us believe just that.)

    The film lasts a breathless 115 minutes and never drags as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sometimes did.  The bad guys are unmistakably bad guys, the good guys are just as relentless in their efforts to win the game of nuclear keepaway.  The police are suitably annoyed by their own inability to keep control of a chaotic situation happening under their noses.  Filming is nice and clear, no fuzzy or murky stuff that sometimes drives us nuts.  Special effects are excellent, as is the soundtrack.  Action, intrigue, twists, novelty death, and a plethora of nifty weapons make the movie first rate eye candy.

    Theatrical release poster

    If you are the type that does not easily suspend disbelief in order to enjoy a movie, then you may wonder how Lisbeth and her friends/allies managed to acquire what has to be hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of high tech equipment and gadgets.  Who built the electronically controlled safe room doors?  Are contractors that discrete?  How does computer nerd Frans know how to use a variety of cutting edge weapons?  For that matter, why does a small popcorn cost $7 at the theater?  (But I digress….)

    Seriously, The Girl in the Spider’s Web is a terrific action-adventure movie and is our favorite film of 2018 so far.  We would recommend discretion be exercised in whether or not you bring pre-teens to the film because of violence and gore.  Striking us as inexplicable, the film has garnered only so-so ratings from other critics and even audiences.  Our test audience liked the movie, but not as enthusiastically as some films we have seen.  We on the other hand are wild about the movie, which is right up our proverbial alley.  If you like the types of films we named above, you will certainly like this film as well.  We eagerly awaited the chance to preview this movie and we were not in least disappointed.  As stated earlier, the faster pace and far more action caused us to like the movie more than The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was pretty good itself.

    Theatrical release poster

    The Girl in the Spider’s Web has previously opened in Europe and is set to open across the US on November 9, 2018.  See you there and see you at the inevitable follow on films of the franchise.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Did you ever read the novel The Girl in the Spider’s Web?  Also, are you planning on seeing this movie?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

     

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Lagercrantz, David. The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A Lisbeth Salander novel, continuing Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series. Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2015.

    Larsson, Stieg. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium Series). Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2011.

    The featured image in this article is a poster for the film The Girl in the Spider’s Web. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Columbia Pictures, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist.   Because the image is poster art, a form of product packaging or service marketing, the entire image is needed to identify the product or service, properly convey the meaning and branding intended, and avoid tarnishing or misrepresenting the image.  The copy is of sufficient resolution for commentary and identification but lower resolution than the original poster. Copies made from it will be of inferior quality, unsuitable as counterfeit artwork, pirate versions or for uses that would compete with the commercial purpose of the original artwork.  e image is used for identification in the context of critical commentary of the work, product or service for which it serves as poster art. It makes a significant contribution to the user’s understanding of the article, which could not practically be conveyed by words alone.  Use for this purpose does not compete with the purposes of the original artwork, namely the creator providing graphic design services, and in turn the marketing of the promoted item.  As film poster art, the image is not replaceable by free content; any other image that shows the same artwork or poster would also be copyrighted, and any version that is not true to the original would be inadequate for identification or commentary.  This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. It is believed that the use of scaled-down, low-resolution images of posters to provide critical commentary on the film, event, etc. in question or of the poster itself, not solely for illustration qualifies as fair use under the copyright law of the United States.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleNovember 7, 2018: Your Chance to Preview Overlord
    Next Article The Evolution of Gambling in America
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Headlines: 2023 Oscar Nominations Released!

    January 24, 2023

    January 17, 2023: Your Chance to Preview Women Talking

    January 16, 2023

    History Short: What was the First Morning Talk Show?

    January 14, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on January 27th

    January 27, 2023

    History Short: Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?

    January 27, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 26th

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: Who is the Octomom?

    January 26, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.