Two years from now, the original ‘Millenium’ trilogy of movies will probably remembered as ‘the versions that came out before David Fincher did them’. The ‘Fight Club’ director has been given the task of remaking these movies, with Daniel Craig in the lead, a crying shame considering the first movie was simple amazing. But before all that happens, we have the second Swedish instalment, ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire.’

It’s a year since the events of the first movie, and Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) returns to Sweden after a year in self-imposed exile following the events of the first film. This anonymity is soon shattered, however, when she is implicated in a series of murders connected with a story her only trusted friend, Mikael (Michael Nyqvist) is investigating. With Lisbeth branded public enemy number one, Mikael must prove her innocence before it’s too late.

Whereas ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ was shock after shock, this story feels like a retread in as much as many characters are revisited, and the twists are not quite as shocking. We look deep into the character of Lisbeth, and so Mikael takes more of a supporting role, with most of the story devoted to working out why she is so detached from the world. It does gather pace and provides a tense finale, with an open-ended final shot leaving you salivating for the final chapter.

Simply put, Rapace is Lisbeth. It’s hard to imagine anyone else bringing out the character’s many contradictions and still making her a likeable character. She is amazing to watch and says more with one of her intense stares than most actors (Hollywood or otherwise) could do in a whole monologue. Nyqvist is solid but his role in this film is too functional to be anything extraordinary.

Still a gripping thriller, but when put next to the jaw dropping first film falls short. It’s an unfair comparison perhaps, but that is the nature of the beast when making trilogies. Rapace is still the embodiment of Lisbeth, and even though the second may be a little less wonderful, Mr. Fincher will have to do a pretty amazing job to eclipse this superb series.