The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

I haven't read any of Stieg Larsson's books but some of my friends have read them and they have had some positive things to say about them. That made me a bit curious about the movies based on the famous trilogy. My main impression is that yes, Noomi Rapace is fierce & tough and she's got a great energy in the film but beyond that ... well I don't know. Most of all, I felt that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (dir. Niels Arden Oplev) didn't make a very good job in tackling the issues on the table: misogyny. Instead, the story was torn to pieces in all kinds of strange twists and turns and instead of a critical account of a misogynistic society, we got a couple of guys that in their psychopathic dealings did not defy the traditional "bad guy", the stereotypical "monster" in almost any sense. The main problem with the film is that is so engrossed in explaining, explaining, explaining (in a way that is no more elusive than a run-of-the-mill episode of Inspector Morse) no time remains for anything else. Another thing is that many of these explanations end up in a muddled attempt to hint at the Scary Past, a past which, again, is more explained than felt. Without Rapace, this film would be quite painful to watch - that's my harsh verdict.