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When I raved about the Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo back in April, I had no idea it was the first in a trio of films based on the globally popular and bestselling Millennium Trilogy novels by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson.

As rumors swirl about who will play the female lead in the American version of the crime novels (Ellen Page, Natalie Portman, Carey Mulligan) with Daniel Craig as the possible male lead and David Fincher as director, the second of the Swedish adaptations, The Girl Who Played With Fire, opens locally on July 23.

In the second chapter, investigative reporter and publisher of Millennium, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is about to expose an extensive sex-trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating Swedish bigwigs. However, when Blomkvist goes to drop off some information for his reporting team, he finds the couple has been brutally murdered. A third murder, which the police suspect is connected to the reporters’ deaths, makes Blomkvist’s friend, investigator/computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a prime suspect.

Blomkvist knows she didn’t do it. He will launch his own investigation to prove her innocence — sometimes with police assistance, sometimes by going around them. Meanwhile, Lisbeth finds out she now tops Sweden’s most wanted list. Incredibly resilient and self-reliant, she realizes that her ugly past is catching up to her present life and that she must use her skills to track down and confront the killer. Lisbeth usually can direct her cold fury with steel-eyed efficiency, but that is going to be tougher this time since the monster she must find and punish is the man (Georgi Staykov) she disfigured as a child by setting him on fire. He is frail, but his henchman is not. In fact, this huge boxer (Mikael Spreitz) can’t feel pain, which makes Lisbeth’s equalizer, a stun gun, useless against the incredible hulk.

Unlike the first film, the team of Blomkvist and Salander never work together, and that bond really helped made the first film particularly intriguing. While we miss their collaboration, the story is still solid and the plot’s connection to Lisbeth’s past certainly adds its own effective layer of intrigue.

Director Daniel Alfredson has done a fine job of keeping the continuity between the two chapters seamless. While this film does stand on its own, you’ll get more enjoyment and understanding of what’s going on if you’ve seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The film is out on DVD and is still playing locally.

Either way, you’ll realize that Lisbeth Salander is one of the most fascinating movie characters in decades. Tiny in stature, she is seething with emotions and the painful scars created by a violent, unhappy childhood. However, those emotions are mostly in check. She is like a coiled viper that strikes when the moment is right. Those who want to catch her and kill her are in for the fight of their lives.

Animated Summer Fun

Despicable Me is another fine animated summer movie for families in a season that has already featured the adorable How To Tame Your Dragon and the emotionally satisfying Toy Story 3. While this isn’t at the top rung, it is still a solid effort with great vocal work by Steve Carell as the arch villain Gru, who finds out he has a soft spot for adorable orphans. He also finds out that a younger super villain Vector (Jason Segel) has taken his place as top villain. Gru plots with his henchman inventor Dr Nefario (Russell Brand) and his adorable, faithful little yellow minions to steal the moon. His plot involves adopting a trio of orphan girls; but instead of just being the means to an end, they turn on the charm and turn him into a lovable parent. There are plenty of low-key laughs in the movie and the minions will have the little ones in stitches.

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Directed by Daniel Alfredson;

rated R

Despicable Me

Directed by Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud;

rated PG

To read more about movies and other topics covered by movie critic Lori Hoffman visit the ‘Atlantic City Central’ blog at http://blog.acweekly.com/