The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Impressions before seeing it
I haven't read the books and actually had no clue what this was about, but from the hype and praise surrounding the series I gathered that there would be mystery and excitement, and perhaps some action.

How was it?
I have to admit that the first few minutes bored me, and that's not a good way to start a movie - especially knowing it was going to be two and a half hours long - so I spent the first bit hoping for it to pick up. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, being a Swedish film and not a Hollywood movie, takes its time and doesn't rush anything. But for those as much in the dark as I was, let me be clear about what kind of movie it is: a murder mystery story that, in my humble opinion, would have been dull if not for the execution and the characters. The murder under investigation is over 40 years old, and the investigators are a man who is soon going to jail for libel and a pierced and tattooed computer hacker. The suspect list is an entire family tree dating back to that time period. So there's a few interesting elements that make it unique.

But as I said, it tends to be slow in spots and the running time almost seems excessive. The second half of the film did improve and it held my interest because I kept wanting to see where things were going, although when the killer was revealed I can't say I was truly shocked or excited by it. Not that I saw it coming or anything, I just kind of went "Oh. Okay." And then it started to feel like the third Lord of the Rings movie, where it seems like it should be over but they just keep tacking on more and more endings, though in hindsight I think each of them was necessary and appropriate.

Recommendation
It only fulfilled one of my three expectations (plenty of mystery but somewhat low on excitement and action), but it was generally well written, directed, and acted. Given its length and how slow it is, it seems like it's probably faithful to the book, but I'm just guessing. I don't know if I liked it enough to watch it again, but I did end up liking it. Probably will not see the upcoming American remake. Come on, guys, there's no need to remake a good foreign movie just because some people don't like subtitles.