When you think of Sweden you think of large, bulky people; the bland, colorless food they eat; and the flat, frozen expanse of barren wasteland that they call home. But I ask you, when a man takes the time to ruminate on this land of golden-haired giants, how often does he think of taut mystery/thrillers starring petite bisexual goth computer hackers? Probably never. Truly I say to you, maybe this ruminating man should pull his head out of the sand and watch The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not just because it is made by Swedish people and they speak a funny language, because it is an awesome movie
I like seeing movies that I know next to nothing about. In the worst case scenario I see something new without the burden of my preconceptions; In the best case scenario I am completely blown away by the reality that such an amazing thing exists in the world. I imagine it's much the same way Christopher Columbus felt when he discovered America. The greatest discovery made in Dragon is the girl with the dragon tatoo herself. as a bisexual goth computer hacker, she is about as unique a character as I've ever seen. She makes her co-star seem about as exciting as a boiled potato. The character could have turned into a miserable Matrix-parody if it hadn't been played by an actor as capable as Noomi Rapace, who is surely destined to be remembered as one the greatest movie hackers in Swedish, if not world, history.
Dragon starts with two disconnected story lines that twist and turn unpredictably, even though I did manage to guess one of the mysteries. At times the movie is hard to watch and I'm not talking about the numerous computer research montages. It gets into subject matter that I don't think American movies touch on much. I was definitely uncomfortable, but that added to the experience rather than taking away.
Cost/Benefit Analysis: I paid full price and don't regret a thing about it. I positively recommend this movie. Special bonus: It's part of a trilogy! That means more to love. Extra-special bonus: there will probably be an American remake. That means that if you see this movie, you can be all pretentious and tell people that the remake could NEVER be as good as the original Swedish version. "Didn't you see it? Oh, you simply must. It's DIVINE!"
