That late Stieg Larsson's posthumously publish novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was the start of a global pop culture phenomenon that would bring more notice to Sweden then Bergman and socialism combined. Investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist and goth computer hacker Lisbeth Salander are a 21st century Holmes and Watson, though with a rather different personal relationship. The staggering success of the book made a film adaptation all but inevitable, and the Swedes stepped in to have a go at their national cultural property before Hollywood could. In quick succession Swedish producers would film the entire 'Millennium' trilogy and then Hollywood would start the same process. Now I have not read any of Larsson's books, I know them only by reputation, and its a good reputation, but I still came in knowing very little. Therefore I'm glade I saw the movies in the order I did, starting with the Swedish version and then moving on to David Finchers.
In the Swedish version you get the basic story, and its a kind of complicated story, and a good one, but in the American re-make you get that story with style. I was amazed how much more Fincher seemed to get into his movie in the same amount of running time, and how dynamic it was visually. I'm also grateful that he set it in Sweden, its such a Swedish story that I don't think it would work set anywhere else. The casting of the American version was certainly impressive, going with Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger is a yea moment, though it does make you question why not Max Von Sydow? Too obvious I guess. Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander are probably better then there counterparts, certainly more memorable. The only casting that didn't quite work for me in the American version was Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. Now I like Craig, he is perhaps the only James Bond who you can see as someone other then James Bond, but Mikael Blomkvist is sort of the anti-James Bond so it seemed to me a little forced. I quite liked Michael Nyqvist's, Mikael Blomkvist because he was kind of doughy and looked like Paul Begala, which seemed right for the character.
The story's too complicated for me to want to go into but it bears up on repeat viewing, and even though I've seen two version you know there's much more in the book. Both versions are engaging, with intriguing characters and a freshness and energy throughout, I'm looking forward to more from both sides of the Atlantic.
The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo (2009): Good
The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo (2011): Great
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