The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Original Title

Flickan som lekte med elden

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Daniel Alfredson

Country

Sweden

Cast

Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson, Per Oscarsson, Georgi Staykov, Sofiya Ledep, Yasmine Garbi, Annika Hallin, Tanja Lorentzon, Paolo Roberto, Johan Kylén, Magnus Krepper, Ralph Carlsson, Micke Spreitz, Anders Ahlbom, Tehilla Blad, Hans Christian Thulin, Jennie Silfverhjelm

Storyline

When a young journalist (Hans Christian Thulin) approaches hims with a thesis about sex trafficking in Sweden, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) immediately throws himself into the investigation that will put into shambles the life of Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace).

Opinion

A week ago I was blown away by how good "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was. Not only it was a faithful adaptation of a book I loved, but it also was a very captivating thriller that made me feel like reading the book. That's how great it was. Unfortunately I can't say the same for "The Girl Who Played with Fire".

While it is yet another faithful adaption, this film is not even remotely comparable to the novel as it is less engaging but still watchable crime film.

The plot - or maybe the change of director - is the biggest problem. Arguably the most complex of the trilogy, this story was quite hard to follow on paper as well, but Larsson provided enough elements and details to make it as understandable as possible. That didn't happen in this film, where the lack of details make the story barely understandable. Also there are too many plot details that aren't explained.

That being said, and considering that one already knows the outcome to the story since there's a third book, director Daniel Alfredson still managed to deliver some tension and he handled the structure of the story pretty well, equally focusing on Lisbeth and Mikael's plotlines, both working to reach the same conclusion. It's kinda sad though because in this way we lose the fantastic chemistry between Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace - but that's not the filmmakers' fault, they didn't write the book after all.

As for the cast, they still do a great job. Noomi Rapace gives another stunning performance as Lisbeth Salander, portraying a quite desperate woman this time around, Michael Nyqvist and Lena Endre both do a good job and there's enough chemistry between them to develop their relationship in the correct way. The rest of the supporting cast also does a good job, and they look just like I pictured them. Micke Spreitz is fine in the role of the villain, but I think Dolph Lundgren would suit more the role.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Original Title

Män som hatar kvinnor

Genre

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Director

Niels Arden Oplev

Country

Sweden

Cast

Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber, Peter Andersson, Marika Lagercrantz, Ingvar Hirdwall, Björn Granath, Ewa Fröling, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Annika Hallin, Tomas Köhler, Gunnel Lindblom, Gösta Bredefeldt, Stefan Sauk, Jacob Ericksson, Sofia Ledarp

Storyline

After being sentenced to three months in prison for slendering a corrupt entrepreneur (Stefan Sauk), journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is hired by a wealthy industrialist (Sven-Bertil Taube) to find out who murdered his nice who disappeared 40 years earlier.

Opinion

Disappointment. That is what I usually experience after watching a film adapted from a book/novel I loved. And the more I love a book, the bigger the disappointment is. So since I loved Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, I was expecting to be let down. Instead I was utterly shocked. Why? Because this version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" has to be one of the best adaptation ever made. But it's not just a great adaptation to a book I loved, it's also a captivating, absorbing thriller.

As I mentioned above, the film is very faithful to the book, and thank to its almost three hour length it manages to go deep and in detail, and its brilliant storytelling will keep you glue to the screen and entertained from start to finish, even though, like me, you have read the book. Or if you have seen the American movie starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. However, there are some subplots that are left out - like Mikael's passion for women - but after all those plots are not that important, and it allows the film to focus on the main plot even more. But I do believe they brought up all the evil too soon.

As gripping and thrilling the story is, what I liked the most about Larsson's book is the characters, and I can't believe how well they are delivered by the film. There's good character development, and a great insight into the characters, especially Lisbeth, is given. You will definetly enjoy the characters on screen.

And this brings me to the casting. First, every single character looks just like I pictured them. Second, the actors all portray their characters in the right way. Especially the two leads, Michael Nyqvist who does a really good job in the role of Mikael Blomkvist - you will immediately sympathize with him - and Noomi Rapace who overshadows by miles Nyqvist delivering an outstanding performance as Lisbeth Salander.

At last but not least, the film also features a beautiful cinematography, stunning locations and a musical score that fits the story and adds tension.