Movie

The Girl in the Spider's Web

Name: The Girl in the Spider's Web
Released: 2018

2018 • Action, Adventure, Crime

Woke Score

out of 10

Plot

Scarred forever by the hideous and unforgivable sins of her father, the antisocial, technologically brilliant computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, finds herself ridding Stockholm of sadists who hate women. It's been three silent years since she last saw her old journalist friend, Mikael Blomkvist, after the events of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and now, Lisbeth is with her back to the wall, hunted down like prey for stealing Project FireFall: a powerful tool designed for the Americans, developed to breach and control most online defence systems. Now, as the NSA, the Swedish Security Service, and deadly Russians are hot on her trail, more and more, Lisbeth's horrible past comes back to haunt her, and no one in this world is safe if the state-of-the-art computer software falls into the wrong hands. What does the future have in store for Lisbeth Salander, the girl in the spider's web?

Overall Series Review

The movie transforms the dark, psychological crime thriller of the source material into a high-octane international spy/action film, centering almost entirely on the solitary and hyper-competent Lisbeth Salander. The plot is driven by a massive 'save the world' techno-thriller involving a nuclear weapons program, a clear departure from the more grounded original stories. The narrative strongly features Salander as an avenging angel, a woman who punishes men who abuse women. Her primary antagonist, however, is a woman: her equally traumatized and vengeful sister. The former male co-star, Mikael Blomkvist, is significantly sidelined and rendered largely ineffectual. While the film includes an American NSA agent and features an international cast, it does not rely heavily on overt race-based identity politics. The film retains the original franchise's bleak and critical view of Scandinavian society and its institutions. The character's bisexuality is present through her relationship with a woman, but it is minimized compared to the original, preventing it from becoming a major ideological focal point.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics4/10

The casting is diverse in secondary roles, including a black American NSA agent, but the main conflict focuses on a personal family drama and a global technology threat, not on a critique of race or intersectional hierarchy. The story centers on the main character's individual merit as a brilliant hacker and operative, though her vigilantism is initially framed as retribution against abusive white businessmen.

Oikophobia6/10

The setting's grim atmosphere is described as 'anti-hygge,' reflecting a rejection of the cozy image of Scandinavian culture. The central villainy stems from the institutional and personal corruption within Sweden, specifically the main character's powerful, abusive father and his connections to organized crime and state failure. This heavily critiques the nation's integrity and institutions.

Feminism8/10

Lisbeth Salander is established as an unparalleled 'uber-hacker' and 'winged assassin' who performs super-heroic feats of survival and combat without showing significant vulnerability or development, fitting the 'Girl Boss' or 'Mary Sue' archetype. The male co-star, Mikael Blomkvist, is reduced to a peripheral and 'laughable' role, effectively emasculating the former partner. The opening scene and the core motivation revolve around fighting male-perpetrated abuse and escaping a deeply toxic family structure, associating the traditional family unit with trauma.

LGBTQ+5/10

The main character's bisexuality is included through her relationship with a woman, but a critic notes this aspect is 'soft-pedal[ed]' and marginalized, not forming the core theme of the narrative. The film's overall tone toward sexuality is noted to be 'astoundingly conventional' and relatively mild. Sexual identity is not elevated to the most important trait or used for explicit ideological lecturing on queer theory or gender fluidity.

Anti-Theism6/10

The movie takes place in an unrelentingly grim, nihilistic world where 'mankind wallow[s] in its worst impulses.' Morality is subjective and driven by Lisbeth's personal code of vigilante justice, suggesting a spiritual vacuum and moral relativism. However, the film avoids direct hostility toward or villainization of organized religion, as the conflict is entirely secular and criminal/political.