Will Rupert join the chorus of voices praising The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo to the skies?
A light-hearted look at the idiosyncrasies of Scandinavian society then…I think not.
Larssons own story is cinematic enough in itself.
HisMillenniumseries, of which this is the first part, have posthumously gone on to become a global phenomenon.
Unsurprisingly, Hollywood has already been sniffing around.
But how does the Swedish language version fair up?
Blomkvist refuses to appeal, taking up the challenge of solving a 40-year-old missing person mystery instead.
After a protracted first act, Blomkvist and Lisbeth finally meet, signalling the start of the film proper.
The dynamism between the two leads is the films strongest suit.
The interplay between never seems too forced, with their relational development following a natural progression of plot beats.
Her opening arch is where the film is at its most interesting and shocking.
The whole thing definitely feels like a miniseries cut down in size for a cinematic release.
It has a strong central story, a great character in Lisbeth, is well acted and looks fantastic.
But its also way too long and has some serious plot holes that dont bear up to closer inspection.
For example, why would anyone write the key to a series of murders in code?
But such are the genre conventions of the mystery thriller.
A lot of people will describeThe Girl With The Dragon Tattooas an intelligent, thought provoking thriller.
But for me its not.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is in cinemas from March12th.
Rating:
3 out of 5
