What makes a good movie is not only having a strong story but also having multifaceted actors who can portray the characters in an exceptional way. “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is a movie based on the fourth novel in the Millennium novel series created by Stieg Larsson, starting with the film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” directed by David Fincher in 2011.

Many fans were expecting the film to have the same cast as the first film, with Rooney Mara performing a remarkable adaptation of Lisbeth Salander, a strong and fearless woman who has an amazing story to tell, and Daniel Craig’s Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist who discovers her. Even though both portray the characters in a distinctive way, Vulture announced in 2016 that the sequel was going to have a new director, Fede Álvarez, alongside a whole new cast.

Many fans were skeptical about “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” given the story is supposed to illustrate a more humane angle of Salander in comparison to the first film, in which we enter a whole universe of the enigmas she contains. More than being a cold-hearted girl, Salander is very compassionate and dedicated to her job as a hacker and secret investigator.

In the new film, Salander is portrayed by Claire Foy, known for her role on “The Crown” as Queen Elizabeth ll. The audience gets an inside look into her complex backstory and the reasons behind the secret life she has decided to live.

The film contained a lot of details regarding her childhood and given that in the first movie she was blackmailed into having sex and gets raped, we can understand why she is now avenging women who live in constant fear and cannot stand up for themselves. The dark side she is constantly trying to embrace suddenly catches up with her and she has to deal with it.

The storyline was exciting, using subtle analogies such as spider’s “web,” referring to the web she is trying to hack, with herself being stuck in the spiderweb. One of the film’s best elements is the use of August Balder, played by Christopher Convery, a little boy who brings out a more soft-hearted side of Salander and becomes a very important part of the “spiderweb.”

Although the movie had a lot of scenes that were unpredictable, passionate and well-directed, Foy’s interpretation of Salander seems to strip the character of her particularity. Not to mention there weren’t enough scenes with Mikael Blomkvist, played by Sverrir Gudnason, that contributed to the storyline. However, since the story is supposed to show a more vulnerable side to the main character, we can see the importance Blomkvist has in Salander’s life.

The film is well directed, the storyline is very compelling and it is incredibly satisfying to watch, but it leaves you longing for more. The film is entertaining and keeps you engaged, yet the ending does not fulfill its potential. Confusingly, it seems that Salander’s story comes to an end, even though this is just the fourth part of a five-part story.