Good plot, there with Borne Identity, Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Usual Suspects....but....

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2010)

I had not read the trilogy of books upon which this one is based but the plot in and of itself blew me away. I felt it was up there with movies like Seven or Silence of the Lambs. Even my wife who reads a million Sue Grafton type murder / mysteries was surprised by the major revelations in the movie and did not guess whodunnit as it she is apt to often do.
Although I would give the plot and story and easy 10/10, what I didn't like as much were the actors. I didn't find them believable and sometimes they were too stiff. Not bad acting but just not as good as this story deserved. Maybe too Swedish? Maybe just 2-dimensional? I didn't start warming up to the actors until the last 1/3 of the movie where it seems they must have gotten into the zone with the characters they were supposed to play.
Noomi Rapace did a decent job as the lone-wolf-hacker-for-hire with the troubled past. Michael Nyqvist wasn't terrible, just so so. Better towards the end though.
I do have to agree with some of the other comments about the scenes of sexual violence, especially the scene with Lisbeth's "Guardian" in his room. That scene made me cringe and squirm in the same way the rape scene from Blindness made me squirm and cringe. It is brutal. You've been warned.
All in all, this movie is worth your while and you will enjoy it if movies like Usual Suspects, Oldboy, Seven, or Silence of The Lambs are your thing. Don't be dissuaded by the comments about the actors as you should watch Män Som Hatar Kvinnor for the plot mainly.