The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Went to see the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today. I read the book some time back and enjoyed it. Then I read the sequel and enjoyed it somewhat less. Then I read the third book in the series and finished it because I’d paid for it and I wasn’t going to lose out on the deal.The first story is a good “Locked Room” mystery. The second, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” goes a bit nuts and the final volume “The Girl who Kicked over the Hornet’s Nest” told me a lot more about Swedish government history than I really wanted to know.

The film sticks very closely to the plot of the first book and is none the worse for it. Daniel Craig, with his Bond charisma turned down a couple of notches, is convincing as the journalist hero that no woman can resist. Rooney Mara is astonishing as the eponymous lady of the title. The book has some pretty gritty stuff in it, along with some raunchy bits as well. The film doesn’t flinch from these, although I did a bit.

If you enjoyed the book you will not feel short changed by the film. I’m not sure if I’ll watch the next two though.