Remakes sometimes prove weak derivatives of the original film but The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo deserves to stand on equal footing as the Swedish original. The strengths of the original film – an enigmatic title character, dark themes and a cold setting which is not often portrayed on film – remain intact as do the weaknesses, such as the stilted plot and anti-climatic conclusion. The first chapter of the Millennium Trilogy is more suited to film, where it can be edited and altered to retain the audience’s interest, than a 631 page tome. Many films follow Akira Kurosawa’s model …
The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet’s Nest
If the original Star Wars saga unfolded like the Millennium Trilogy, Luke Skywalker would have still destroyed the Death Star at the conclusion of A New Hope. However, the battle would not have continued on Hoth, Bespin, and Endor; rather The Empire Strikes Back would have consisted of Darth Vader’s meticulous attempts to frame the rebel pilot and The Return of the Jedi would have been Luke’s return after an acquittal. The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo proved to be an atypical and intriguing film that was overwhelmed by two tepid sequels. The Girl Who Played with Fire was tolerable …
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Stately Plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a ticket for the cinema upon which the film, theatre number, and showtime were printed. He had very much enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was looking forward very much to viewing the second film in the trilogy. Eagerly, he was anticipating whether Lisbeth would discover the identity of her father and whether her companion, the redoubtable Mikael would be able to escape again from the intergalatic — er, Swedish crime syndicate. Two hours later, he knew the answers but was grossly disappointed by the manner in which they …
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Far too few films feature enthralling character development and an elegant touch to create suspense and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of those works. It is a clever psychological thriller — not without its flaws but still much more intriguing than the average film. Although one audience member walked out in digust when he found out that it was filmed in Swedish with subtitles, I did not feel that that hampered the story at all. Interestingly, another woman in the theatre forgot that the film was restricted and reacted in shock whenever a rated-R moment occured. Stieg Larsen elegantly incorporates …