Murder She Wrote on Steroids

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2011)

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It is by far, in my opinion, the best and most sensible movie out of the trilogy.
I found the subtitles to be too light to read at times, but this did not spoil the intensity and suspense generated from start to finish.
Salander is a Gothic dark, mysterious and sometimes attractive character, certainly one tough cookie not to be messed with.
Blomkvist seems an ignorant and somewhat reluctant reporter at first, but proves differently later. His alliance with Salander is of utmost importance, and adds credibility to the storyline.
The mystery of Harriet Vanger's disappearance becomes an obsession to Blomkvist and audience alike (and eventually Salander). It reminded me of Murder She Wrote, but on a heightened level.
The true colors of the Vanger family unfolds, and one cannot help but try become the Sherlock Holmes within the audience - for Harriet and her uncle's sake. The island becomes too small for all, as Salander and Blomkvist gets closer to opening Pandora's Box. Enough spoilers.
The acting and action scenes coupled with excellent scenery of Sweden / Norway and a solid plot, could label this as a honest effort for fresh air and certainly shows that Hollywood isn't the Alpha and Omega. I would rate this as a low-medium budget movie, and in my books surpassed many of Hollywood's medium-high budget movies of 2009-2010.
Really don't bother with the other two installments, which in my opinion has no relevance to this one, besides maybe the relationship between Salander and Blomkvist.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is worth seeing, and certainly deserves to be part of the DVD collection.
9/10