[Update 07/27/2021: Need to redo this review completely. Fix the screenshots
also.]Compared to the novel, the film is a huge disappointment. A few weeks ago I devoured these books one after another and when I finished the third book I just sat there motionless for a long time daydreaming, in my sadness, about all the different ways the story could have continued. I'm sure my dreams pale in comparison to the story that Steig Larsson had planned, but since he died before book 4 was completed, my daydreams are all I'll ever have.
My next fix of the Lisbeth Salander/Mikael Blomkvist world was this Swedish movie adaptation. I was really excited about watching it, in anticipation of it being awesome and me buying the Blu-Rays and reliving the story over and over and over...well, that's never going to happen because after trudging through this lifeless clunker I never want to see it again.
If you've never read the novel that might sound brutal, since this film might actually be satisfying to the easily amused, but to me, as a fan of the book, there was a lot wrong with this film. For the sake of not sitting here writing a long ass review I'll just mention a few points that bothered me:
1) the complete removal of the relationship between Erika Berger and Mikael. This is just insane because their relationship is one of the key points of the entire series! And the reason for the cliffhanger ending of the book which...
2) wasn't even included in the movie!!! Not that it matters much because...
3) the immensely complex relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael has been weakened and watered down so much that it doesn't seem much more that just a sexual fling.
4) the massive trimming down of the"Millennium" storyline, including the relationship with the Vanger family.
5) Henrik Vanger's luring Mikael with information about Hans-Erik Wennerström.
6) less characters in the Harriet Vanger mystery.
7) how Martin's car trip ends, not to mention the line Lisbeth gave Martin when she entered his basement.
8) Lisbeth didn't try and hide her computer secret. Also, her introduction to the Harriet investigation was silly in this version and goes totally against her book character.
9) the almost complete removal of Dragan Armansky.
10) the entire Lisbeth character. I don't even want to get into it.
Bottom line: if I had seen the movie version first I would've never read the novel. Even at 152 minutes, it's too streamlined and the entire feel is just wrong. I didn't like it and I wish I had never seen it since it tarnishes the vision/feelings that I created in my head while reading the book. My advise? Buy the book and forget this movie even exists...I'm damn sure going to.
Part 2 - The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)
Part 3 - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (2009)
Remake Part 1 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Remake Part 2 - The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
This part of the story takes place in December 2002, but yet the postmark
says December 2007.
