The second in Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy finds our pierced, tattooed, Goth-haired “girl” framed for the murders of two reporters at work on an exposé of sex trafficking. It’s a solider case than the first one, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but still lurid, seamy, sleazy; and the sex-trade angle gets completely pushed aside in favor of the heroine’s quest for vengeance. Along the way, there are some tense sequences involving a blond giant impervious to pain, and after two-plus hours an unsatisfactory up-in-the-air ending that requires you to grit your teeth and gird for another sequel. With Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Mikael Spreitz, Yasmine Garbi, Paolo Roberto, and Per Oscarsson; directed by Daniel Alfredson. (2009) — Duncan Shepherd
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