The great Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson continues! After the great success of "Disappointment" (now available on DVD), "Damnation" is now coming to our cinemas. While this second part can not quite keep the class of its predecessor, but still offers suspense at quite a high level.
After being released from prison, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) sets out to make few friends with the next explosive investigative story. With the help of a young colleague, Mikael tracks down a group of high officials and dignitaries who have been preying on young Russian women for years. But Mikael is not the only one investigating this unbelievable story, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is also investigating in the background. These lead her to, of all people, her former guardian Nils Bjurman, who seems to be directly involved in the trafficking of girls. When both Bjurman and the young journalist who put Mikael on the story are murdered, Lisbeth falls under suspicion and is hounded by the police and the media. But Lisbeth turns the tables and, as an avenging angel, hunts down the real masterminds - and must also confront her dark past in the process.
"Damnation", like "Delusion", offers a very complex story whose various layers gradually add up to an overall picture that can only be understood by viewers who follow the events with full attention (or who know the book). Unlike its predecessor, "Damnation" feels much more like a TV production. The film simply lacks the greatness that elevated "Damnation" far above the TV average. Anyone who thinks this makes the film any less worth watching, however, is sorely mistaken.
Because aside from the thrilling story, it's once again the superb performances by Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist that are worth every penny of the price of admission. Rapace's intense, relentless acting in particular makes Lisbeth Salander one of the most interesting characters in contemporary thriller cinema. The actress is first-rate at using intensity and subtlety in just the right doses at just the right moments. As a result, the character comes across as believable and realistic despite all the extremes. Michael Nyqvist's Mikael Blomkvist is, as in the first part, the perfect counterweight to Lisbeth Salander. Only the fact that the two have almost no scenes together, clouds the positive overall impression a little.
Until the end, which is a direct transition to the third part (expected to start in cinemas in June), the viewer remains riveted in the cinema seat. It is to the credit of the makers of all three films that each part has its own character, but that in the end a very harmonious and above all great overall picture emerges, which lives up to the high standards of the successful novel in every respect. Therefore, even if the class of "Verblendung" is not quite reached, "Verdammnis" is still quite great thriller cinema that you should not miss.
Original title: Flickan som lekte med elden
Directed by Daniel Alfredson
Length: approx. 129 min.
FSK: age 16+
