Peter McGinn

Dec 5, 2021

9.0

Oddly, the version of this movie I watched contained both English subtitles and dubbing, and after a while I wished I could turn off the dubbing and go with just the subtitles, so that their mouths would always move at the right times. I watched the U.S. production of this with Daniel Craig many years ago, and I liked it, but I don’t remember it clearly enough to compare the two. My f=general impression, though, is that this original is better. Of course, the Lisbeth character is the real hero here. A rough childhood and beyond have molded her into a tough lady indeed, mentally, physically and emotionally. Oddly enough, she is the only character who seems to show any growth by the end of the film, perhaps partly due to her having so much room to grow emotionally.

Dr Nostromo

Nov 20, 2025

8.0

82/100 A reporter's social disgrace for libel, rape and revenge, the investigation of serial killings going back to the 40's, all centered around a girl's disappearance in 1966. Made in Sweden two years earlier than the U.S. version, this is the first in the Lisbeth trilogy ...the other 2 films made at the same time and coming out later in 2009. Both versions place their story emphasis on different parts making each a unique take on the same story and outcome. Not as intense and well constructed as the U.S. version (which is well suited as a stand-alone film), this one still manages to hold up quite well as the start of the trilogy and features an excellent performances by Noomi Rapace. -- DrNostromo.com

CinemaSerf

Oct 2, 2026

7.0

Soon to be incarcerated after losing a libel suit against a billionaire, journalist "Mikael" (Michael Nyqvist) is surprised to take a call from a wealthy Swedish industrialist who has a task for him. "Henrik" (Sven Bertil-Taube) has long since been concerned about the supposed killing of his niece, and is convinced that someone from within his own dysfunctional family could be responsible so he asks "Mikael" to investigate. Now forty years have gone under the bridge since "Harriet" disappeared, so what chance he can do anything with this coldest of cold cases? Well hope might lie in the help he gets from accomplished hacker "Lisbeth" (Noomi Rapace) - a leather clad motorcylist-cum-rebellious spirit who also sports the titular tattoo! There might be clues from what look like phone numbers or maybe bible verses, but what they soon discover is that there is much more than one single disappearance here - rather a series of savage murders that date back over the decades and that may even have some Nazi connotations. As their investigations deepen, it becomes more perilous for both of them but that process also begins to tie up some hitherto unexplained threads in the lives of both. This benefits from a sort of two-pronged approach. Firstly we have the storyline from Nyqvist that I found a little undercooked but still quite compellingly delivered and then there is the far more turbulent, violent and vengeful one from a Rapace who really does throw herself into the part convincingly. When the time comes for the two to unite, we see the pieces of their respective jigsaws fit (not so) neatly together to make quite a formidable team - complete with a little bit of the visceral thrown in for good measure. There are plenty of potential culprits, but we are drip fed the clues at the same rate as they are, so it's not like you could ever guess whodunnit until an ending that I can't say I loved, but that I certainly didn't expect. Much of this is set amidst the cold and dark rural wilderness of a Sweden that provides us with an eerily effective setting and as carefully paced conspiracy thrillers go, this is up there with the best.