Movie Review Rewind: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010)

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is based on a bestselling novel by Stieg Larsson. It is the first of the “Millennium” Trilogy which means there will be two more films to follow this one. And I sure hope they will be just as exciting, smart and engaging as this one. This film hits every mark and really keeps the plot fresh and exciting. The story is about murder, rape, deceit, and secrets. It is a great mystery/thriller that knows how to tell a story without getting carried away with action sequences but still is suspenseful all the way through.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger went missing. Her uncle believes she was murdered and that one of his family members was involved. They are a tight, wealthy family, but very dysfunctional and most of them hate one another. So it is not an outrageous accusation. He hires a journalist by the name of Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and he has his own problems.

He was an aggressive journalist that went after a big corporation, but his sources disappeared and he was framed. So Blomkvist leaves his troubles and has six months until he serves his jail time. For those six months, he will try to solve this four decade long mystery. A tough assignment to say the least. But there is a sign of hope once he receives an important clue from a mysterious computer hacker.

Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) was assigned to research Blomkvist but she continued to hack in to his computer and finds out about the case. She believes he is innocent concerning his problems he ran away from. And she helps him figure out what happened to Harriet Vanger and whether she is alive or has been murdered. If she is dead then who from the Vanger family did it or knows who did it? There is a dark secret hidden in that family and Mikael and Lisbeth will try uncover it.

Rapace plays a smart, badass hacker who is resourceful and tough. As the audience, Lisbeth remains a mystery throughout the film. We get to see a little bit from her past but not much. However, before she meets up with Mikael, she has her own struggles involving parole and a guardian who is sick and perverted. Rapace plays a strong woman–a strong character. This does not mean she does not get her ass kicked, but she won’t stay down. She’ll fight until she cannot anymore. She is intelligent and Mikael needs her if they want to get to the truth of what happened over 40 years ago.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an amazing film that is complex and has a few twists and turns. It keeps you guessing and every piece of information is relevant and of importance. This one murder is just the beginning. There were more and there is a reason why these women were killed and how.

This film is dark and not light-hearted whatsoever. It is a harsh look at what people do to other individuals and think they can get away with it. It is about what men do to women and get away with it. But in the middle of all of this stands this courageous, independent woman who does not take shit from anyone. Lisbeth is the heart and soul of this film. Nyqvist is great as the journalist/detective. There is nothing wrong with his performance at all. But this is Rapace’s film because her role is what connects everything together. She makes everything else work magnificently.

Niels Arden Oplev directed this film and he knew what he was doing. He knew the world he wanted to create on film and the characters that would live in it. Of course, he got his inspiration from Larsson, but it was up to Oplev on how the pages would come across on the big screen. He created one of the best crime thrillers I have seen in a very long time. You have no idea where this film and it’s characters will end up.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is very close to a masterpiece. Every ingredient a film should contain, this one has. The film has characters you care about and you want to know more about. And with Lisbeth, you only get to know a little at a time and I am sure in the next two films we will get the opportunity to know who she really is. But we will have to wait for now.

Until then, enjoy a film that wants the audience to get involved. It wants to make us think about the plot and the clues that are found. And along the way, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will take you on an exciting journey that is sometimes tough to watch, but keeps you entirely intrigued and interested. It will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and I don’t say that too often.

“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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