Whilst I have enjoyed the Millennium Trilogy in its literature form, so far I have found the movies underwhelming. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a film lauded by many, was nothing more than an upmarket episode of Murder She Wrote with graphic scenes of sexual violence thrown in for good measure. That's not to say it was bad, but I genuinely struggled to see the same film that Empire magazine had awarded a perfect 5 star score.
The Girl Who Played With Fire, the book, is a story that lends itself perfectly to chase thriller territory in the same vein as excellent movies like The Fugitive. Unfortunately, the movie fails to do this. Whilst obvious elements have been condensed for the sake of time, there is little tension found in the police investigation of the three murders in which Lisbeth Salander is the prime suspect. The overall conspiracy (which is fully explained in the final part, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest) also lacks the punch found in the novel. Plot reveals are spoken of but quickly brushed aside without dwelling on the ramifications and the climax, which takes up a good 100 pages of the book, plods along quickly with no tension or impact.
Where the novel is exciting, the movie bores. At least I know now that David Fincher, who is tentatively signed to remake the entire trilogy, will at least inject the required excitement that is strangely absent here.
2/5
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