A Promising Start, Thanks To Noomi Rapace's Show-Stealing Performance.

Rating: Null/10 (8 October 2013)

The 1st feature of the Millennium Trilogy, adapted from Stieg Larsson's novel of the same name, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an ingeniously crafted mystery that expertly manages to retain its enigmatic atmosphere, tense feel & disturbing themes from start to finish by presenting its dark story in an unflinching manner and is as merciless as the subject it deals with.
It tells the story of an infamous journalist who teams up with a young, tattooed & wildly eccentric computer hacker to investigate the case of a woman who inexplicably went missing 40 years ago without any trace. But the further they advance with the case, the more they put their lives on risk as the family that employed them is prepared to go to any lengths to protect its appalling secrets.
Brilliantly directed & certainly not compromised in any manner, this Swedish thriller is an absolutely scarring experience with its brutal take on rape & violence and features quality level of craftsmanship in almost every single aspect of its filmmaking. Yet the best thing about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is undeniably the terrific performances from its entire cast that provides this trilogy the promising start it needed.
Noomi Rapace stars as Lisbeth Salander on whom the entire novel series is based on and is absolutely sensational, ruthless & magnificent in her given role. Michael Nyqvist also does a very good job as Mikael Blomkvist. The performances by the supporting cast is also impressive & believable which further helped in making the drama more captivating.
On an overall scale, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an excellent transition of Larsson's most famous novel on the silver screen and even though it might appear a bit too overlong in the end, for what it's worth, this film just works. Thoroughly recommended.