Like any normal college student, I am a sucker for a good action film with lots of blood and cuss words. Call it my college-cultivated attention span or the effect of 10-plus years of Internet use; films with too much dialogue never really entice me. So the idea of 120 minutes of Swedish dialogue made me a bit wary. Yet, by the end of The Girl Who Played With Fire, I was pleasantly surprised.

The second installment in the late Swede Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, continues the story of the brilliantly abused computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and disgraced Millennium journalist Mikael Blomkvist. As Blomkvist is moving forward with his life after the events of the last film, he is struck with tragedy as two Millennium journalists on the verge of revealing an extensive sex trafficking operation between Sweden and Eastern Europe are brutally murdered hours before the story is to go to press.

As Lisbeth is trying to piece her life together, she confronts her guardian Nils Bjurman and finally gets her revenge. However, he is soon found dead, shot execution-style in the same manner the journalists were found. What’s more, Lisbeth’s fingerprints are found on the murder weapon, and she is instantly suspected of the string of loosely related murders. With Blomkvist alone in his belief of her innocence, they must delve into Lisbeth’s dark past and uncover events that have been haunting Lisbeth since she was 12 years old.

With acclaimed Swedish film director Daniel Alfredson at the helm, veteran Swedish actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist give outstanding performances with great supporting roles from Yasmine Garbi and boxer-turned-actor Paolo Roberto.

Though much like Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers, The Girl Who Played With Fire is not a stand-alone film and might leave many a bit confused. This can be remedied by either picking up the first Stieg Larsson book or movie. Whichever path you choose, know that you will not be disappointed with this Swedish thriller. With thought-provoking dialogue, unconventional plot twists and an ending that will leave you wanting more, The Girl Who Played With Fire is a definite gem during this summer film season.