Watch the movies first!

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2011)

Any book will be better than the movie - 99 times out of 100. This trilogy would be the rare exception. I'd heard that "The Girl" stories/movies were awesome, so I finally did watch the first movie. I am so glad I did. I was able to see what a great story was being told and then I wanted to read the books.
If I had started with the book, I probably never would have finished it. The books are, forgive me, almost dull in parts. The author goes in to so much detail, so much backstory, so much minutae of Swedish political history, that they become hard to read. The meat of the stories is excellent, but it is hard to slog through some parts of the books.
The real story in the first book "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" doesn't really start until about a third of the way through. This bit of looooong winded backstory is dealt with in a few lines of dialog in the movie. The author uses way too many difficult Swedish street and place names that all but Swedes will not understand. Makes it cumbersome.
I like detail, I like backstory, and I like well fleshed-out characters, but believe me, the movie is the way to go FIRST. Then you can appreciate the books and find out all the other details.
All of that being said, this is an arse-kicker trilogy of movies. Fans of exciting thrillers should not give a second thought to the subtitles and enjoy. YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN or those with very delicate sensibilities around. Trust me here.
"The Girl" is a character unlike any you have met before. Don't read too many reviews and ruin it all. Watch and enjoy.