Fat Film Review
Sweden, Now More Than Just IKEA
There were a couple of things I didn't realize going into this film. One that it was Swedish and two that it is was one of the best Mystery/Crime films to come out in a long time. By the description in Netflix and the cover art it looked like some stupid Hackers 3 and one third kind of flick, but it is surely not. I rank this movie right up there with Silence of the Lambs. Suspenseful, twisty, creepy at times and intelligent. It is full of the raw jagged underside of dark hidden human emotion and evil that humans try to hide. The premise to the film is somewhat simple on the surface. Mikael Bloomkvist playing a reporter, fallen from grace in a frame up, is hired by an uber-rich recluse who wants him to solve the murder of his favorite niece from some forty years ago. His investigation will eventually lead him to cross paths with Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace, who uses her photographic memory and tech skills to help him solve the murder. Lisbeth is darkly troubled, strangely detached, and, at times, very dangerous. All with good reason though. Not much more can be said without spoiling the twists and turns of the film. Fantastically this is part of a trilogy of films the other two being The Girl Who Play with Fire (2009) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest (2009). I can tell you already that the second film is also excellent. Sadly the writer of this series, Steig Larrson, died in 2004 and his plans for seven more books in these series went with him. There remains a fourth near complete book and rough sketches for a fifth and sixth, but who knows if these can or should be made into films. Final thoughts: By far this is one of the best films I've seen in years and not just for it's genre. The acting is great and the story is one of the best to come along in awhile. Yes you'll have to read subtitles and no we don't need a Hollywood remake (even though it's already in the works, ugh!).