The Millennium Trilogy off to a 'fiery' start!

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2012)

Niels Arden Oplev coheres together an excellent re-telling of Stieg Larrson's first novel in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' collection.
The ambiance is certainly dark throughout however atmosphere is lighted with the occasional use of black humour. In all fairness, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is certainly a disturbingly atmospheric novel to place on the big screen and this makes the movie difficult to view in certain areas.
The narrative is fairly simple as a Swedish journalist (Michael Nyqvist) is on hand to help a desperate old man (Sven-Bertil Taube) re-ignite a search for his daughter, 40 years after her disappearance. As her personal life gets on top of her, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) stumbles across journalist Mikael and forms a partnership in a bid to assist him in his investigation.
The story maybe decent however is often rather bloated and isn't as engaging as it could perhaps be. Also, the film is rather worded; this isn't always a negative however it is considering it's duration stretches over two and a half hours.
The anchoring of the film is down to the chemistry between Nyquvist and Rapace. It ranges from various things such as their awkwardness at fist, their ability to work as a team and their differences in personalities which add a darkly comedic factor to a rather adult themed tale.
Another recommendable feature is the concluding half an hour which ties everything up sufficiently well and injects a essence of energy to the affair.
All in all, superb characterisation and on-screen chemistry from the leading cast members as well as a fitting conclusion make 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' a fabulous if gritty watch. Had it not been let down for its frequently slow pacing and familiar plot, it would have scored higher.