The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I can't resist comparing it to Fincher's version. The world of Millennium in Oplev's version is less flashy, but surprisingly enough, it's so inventive that many times the American version had no choice but to literally copy certain scenes along with the type casting (whether intentional or not). In this version, the intertwining of Blomkvist with the Harriet case is somewhat more logical, and the Vanger family tree is presented more clearly. Yet Blomkvist is less charismatic and his relationship with his wife seems to be non-existent. Lisbeth Salander is much more grown up and more mature overall. This form of Lisbeth is more in line with her new custodian, who is in many ways more disgusting and dangerous. Blomkvist's storyline lacks the cute relationship with the cat in the cabin on Hedestad Island, and Lisbeth doesn't give us much of her one-night lesbian romance. The Swedes are simply not as ethereal as the Americans, which is most evident in the character of Martin (Stellan is Swedish). One of the major changes is the guide to biblical references. The way in which the rapprochement between Lisbeth and Blomkvist comes about is different only in the delicate details, which is nice. However, the meeting with the Vanger family in the hospital, which is smooth in Fincher’s version, has been replaced here by dry Machiavellian babble. The Swedish film is also much less tolerant of Nazism, lacking the figure of the archivist, but the key catharsis associated with Lisbeth's past is considerably more raw and realistic. Contrastingly, the Australian chapter feels otherworldly, just as Lisbeth's loading of the property at the end fits somewhat less into the big picture. So what about the point? In the Swedish film, the last shot is of a man in love (!), while in the American one, the new-age heroine is struggling with a broken heart. Hmm.... (12/01/2012)

It was clear to me that the movie could never fit in everything from the book, but the book still took a beating more than I would have expected. Perhaps the only change for the better was that Blomkvist looked for Harriet because he remembered her from his childhood. Otherwise, I was and still am quite at a loss. Everything seemed too rushed to me, even the oft-mentioned rape (and revenge), the script just had pieces of lot of things just to have them appear in the film and then move away from them immediately... It barely had any atmosphere, dammit! The book stands and falls with Lisbeth Salander's character, and I was initially happy to see Noomi Rapace play her. In the end, though, it didn't seem very appropriate - she simply wasn’t weird enough. In this respect I'm pretty much betting on Rooney Mara from the American remake, who looks much more unusual from the photos. I'm giving it two and a half stars, mainly because after an hour I was thinking "Well, if I fell asleep now, nothing would actually happen". And that's not a good sign. (20/10/2013)

The majority of dissatisfaction in the reviews is caused by the usual comparison with the book and ends with the usual lamentation that certain characters, motifs, or elements are missing or do not get space in the film (logically). I was not affected by this problem because, since the birth of my children, I have dramatically less time, and the time that remains, I dedicate to the film world. So best-selling books like "Millenium" regularly reach me only through film. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can be jokingly referred to as the European version of dark thrillers like The Silence of the Lambs. The search for a long-lost girl from a wealthy business family gradually turns into a pursuit of the demons of the past and culminates in the revelation of the culprits behind a long series of brutal murders of young women. It differs from routine Hollywood blockbusters in its slower pace, and certain moderation (I can imagine a disproportionately more action-packed, bloodier, and overall more effective version of the same). The Swedish film deliberately avoids big names and familiar faces, which European cinema could easily provide without any problems. The unfamiliar actors, however, act exceptionally well and score points alongside excellent camera work, which, together with the great unsettling soundtrack, creates a gloomy atmosphere of a world where you can expect a strike from anyone rather than kindness and friendship. Thanks to its hardness, the Swedish language also plays a significant role - it is better to choose to watch the subtitled original. However, the foundation of the film's success is a well-crafted quality script and, above all, the characters, where the contrasting duo is formed by the stubborn yet reliable and personally conservative investigative journalist Blomkvist. His more action-oriented and rebellious counterpart is the punk hacker Lisbeth, who enjoys investigating crimes she did not commit. Her character constantly teeters on the edge, whether it is her actions or her abilities, and she is a character who seems to have emerged from the pages of a comic book into the story. Thanks to her unconventional upbringing by her father and sexual lessons from her guardian, she does not trust men and experiments with lesbian relationships. Noomi Rapace, an Icelander, portrayed her convincingly and gave her an interesting and attractive appearance, but Lisbeth is already so inherently "cool" that I have some problems with accepting her, and if the film pushed a little harder, her credibility would be completely lost. Thanks to its professionalism, the film can be considered a quality challenge to the current American dominance in this commercial field. It is not exclusive and detached art, but a smart, suspenseful midcult film for a wide range of moviegoers. Overall impression: 80%. (20/07/2010)

I didn’t read the novels and haven’t watched the other two parts of the trilogy yet, so I don’t know whether some of the apparently pointless things in this film will have any meaning in the future, but the fact is that they feel very redundant within the scope of one feature detective movie. That said, I believe in the principle that I call “pointless things happen” (not all the events that simultaneously take place in real life are important for the main event taking place, therefore, they too should be included in scripts – i.e. they don’t have to be directly causal), and as such, that relatively redundant affair with Lisbeth’s caretaker didn’t bother me at all. If the film had finished half hour earlier, I would give it five stars, but that pointless epilogue brought the rating down a point. (23/08/2010)

From the very beginning, every scene got darker and more depressing with each passing moment, and yet none of the final moments or catharsis moved me in any way. Maybe it's because there are so many emotional walls built around Lisbeth that I watched her from a distance the whole time, and I was much more fascinated by Mikael. Or maybe the adaptation simply skipped a few scenes that would have greatly helped me, it's hard to say. The only certain thing is that this wave of depression passed right by me, even though the investigation line had me quite attached. (17/12/2011)