Stella Blómkvist

Didn't know what to make of this one at first, has a stylish look about it (think last year's 'Atomic Blonde' with its neon lights and bright colours?) and contains the wonderful Heida Reed (Elizabeth in Poldark!) in the lead. 3 sub-plots within one, 'Stella Blomkvist' doesn't really click for me until late on when there's a whole web of Scandi-crime-noir intrigue. It felt like the makers were new to the medium, so trying out lots of things, not everything working. Fair play to them though, by the end I was a lot more involved, in some measure thanks to the quality of the acting. Reed is fun as the renegade cop (though she could use a a few more rough edges), Kristín Þóra Haraldsdótti good as her long-suffering geeky sidekick Gunna and Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir great as the sexy scheming government minister Dagbjört, ably assisted by lots of others (an ensemble of Chinese actors caught up in the plot, too). 'Stella Blómkvist' takes chances just like its chief protagonist, and the plot hinges on China's use of both soft and hard power in its foreign relations, so very 'topical' these days. It's worth continuing ...