A true-blooded crime thriller

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2013)

A true-blooded crime thriller with a good dark atmosphere and very strong story, which certainly is not something unseen in the world of detective fiction, but it comes as a refreshment given to contemporary film offer. Wealthy tycoon Henrik Vanger hires controversial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, to investigate disappearance of his niece, which happened 40 years ago on the island wholly owned by Vanger family. Blomkvist was sentenced to three months in prison for planted libel against corrupt entrepreneur so Vanger decides to investigate him before hiring. Lisabeth Salander gets the job of investigating Blomkvist but she continues to monitor his computer after the job was done. So, after she sees his new job for Vanger she starts helping him, firstly indirectly and soon directly. Their investigation leads to revelations of dark secrets Vanger family. Although plot is relatively simple, characterization of main characters is thorough which is not strange since this movie is just first in trilogy. In simple words, movie is very good, without both positively and negatively extremes. Perhaps some viewers will not like politicking, and the story certainly could pass without the Nazis, but all in all screenplay seems solid. Acting is at a high level, and there are no big objections on directing. Noomi Rapace that embodies Lisbeth is fantastic, but the rest of the cast is not far away. Perhaps the most remarkable is the atmosphere, which is a typical Scandinavian strong, cold and dark and it suits to story perfectly. The very end is a typical Hollywood and serious viewers will probably feel bitterness because the story had great potential to go in a more interesting and original way.