Original different, but better?

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2002)

*Spoilers ahead*
First of all. All of you that haven't seen the Norwegian original - do so! It's a great movie with some typical Scandinavian grayness (both literally and metaphorically).
The 2002 Hollywood version is watered down, I agree. But the cinematography is excellent, the opening scene with the aeroplane is simply beautiful. Also the acting of Pacino and Williams is great - finally we get to see Williams as a bad guy!
Hollywood is also better at delivering exactly the right number of clues and backward references so that no one in the audience is confused. Thriller by the book. European films are often less 'clear' in this aspect, perhaps on purpose, perhaps due to less skill and handywork.
There are a few things I understand had to be changed compared to the original. First of all - Norwegian police officers do not (normally) carry guns, while the Swedish cops do. This gives a more tension to the episode when Skarsgard's former-Swedish-policeman character tries to cover up the shooting on the beach. In the 2002 version it becomes a question of this-or-that backup weapon... duller, but I can understand the necessity.
But why change the dog killing scene? Firing into a rotting dog corpse and digging out the bullet may be disgusting enough, but the result is that Pacino gets to play a more likeable character. And then the girl in the car. Skarsgard makes a pass at her (understatement), while Pacino avoids her invitations. I wonder if these two scenes were changed because Pacino himself didn't want to portray a pedophile that kills dogs without thinking twice, only to achieve his goals.
Williams' character, on the other hand, is more of a classic villain compared to the Norwegian counterpart. Instead of a confused writer who almost accidentally kills a girl, he has become a full fledged murderer, shooting at cops with shotguns - the works. And instead of dying by falling through a hole in the floor, he meets the standard Hollywood villain-end with an overdose of shots to his chest.
Naturally, Hollywood couldn't allow Pacino's character to survive; he is bad and has to pay, and while doing so he redeems himself by ensuring that the young cop stays on the path of righteousness and alas! justice prevails.
I think the ending of the original - Skarsgard's bad cop is saved partly by the bell, and partly by his own ruthlessness - is more provoking, and if you may, more European. He is full of guilt, but he will never be redeemed, or get a proper night's sleep.