I think that all were equal except the rapist,the American version made him look rather empathetic. The story was originally called Men Who Hate Women. Rooney was good but Noomi was Salander in every way,her expressions revealed more. Not sure why they could not cast her. The cat was not in the Swedish film ? The ending with her in love with him was not like the Swedish,she did trust him but loved him in a friendship way. I did like both films but the I did like the Swedish the best.

Posted by cgcollier in Birmingham ,

I saw both versions. Daniel Craig did a good job playing Mikael, but he had a difficult time maintaining his accent. Ronney Mara also did a good job with Lisbeth, which was a tall order to fill. I didn’t like how the American version downplayed the racism, which was a strong theme in the Swedish version. Also, I thought the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth developed more natually in the Swedish version, whereas the American version rushed the building of trust and respect. The cat in the American version was disturbing, but I hear that scene is in the actual books, which I have on order. All in all, both versions are excellent, but I prefer the Swedish version.

Posted by sburns23 in North Carolina ,

Compared to the books, I thought the American version kept to the book more (aside from the ending). On the whole, the feeling of the book was more like the American version. I liked Rooney Mara’s portrayal better. I felt that part of her character was being unable to portray emotion quite as well as others. The allusions to the next two books seemed forced. I was very disappointed that the American version didn’t stick to the end though.

Posted by kfv in nj ,

i saw both Swedish and american versions and thought they were great but in my opinion the american version was better and more consistent with the book like the ending but there were some parts that weren’t, like the fact that Harriet vanger winded up being in England sitting on a desk in her office while she should have been in Australia with her son in a farm. that to me was irritating and a huge alteration but overall i thought David fincher did a brilliant job and that Rooney Mara was born for that role . id love to see more of Rooney Mara as lisbeth salander.

Posted by trinity in ny ,

I think Craig is better as Blomkvist. It’s a coin flip for the actresses, but I think Rooney Mara looks closer to the part, but I wouldn’t have been disappointed if the original actress (Noomi Rapace) would have wanted to reprise the role (which she didn’t).

I think the American version is closer to the story and I can’t wait for the ‘Directors Cut’ DVD which I imagine would add another 30 – 45min to the film! I liked the way they explain Anita Vanger because it seemed more believable than her ending up in Aussieland. I also liked the part of her sewing up his cut with dental floss and her expression when he asked her to disinfect it first!

Hopefully the Studio will decide to finish the last 2 films back -to- back with or without Fincher. I can’t see the main actors (Craig & Rooney) waiting 2 more years for Fincher to spend on his’20,000 leagues Under The Sea’ picture? Also, a bunch of the supporting actors would need to be replaced if their were not available.

Finally, I think the studio made a big mistake waiting until Christmas in the USA for this movie to come out. There was already a HUGE worry that this version would be more graphic than the Swedish one, and that scared away a lot of the viewers. A better time would be in the lag time between the Summer and Holiday blockbuster films. Anyway, it’s just too bad they didn’t film them ALL TOGETHER like the Peter Jackson did in the LOTR Trilogy.

Posted by TheLlama in Earth ,

I don’t think a comparison can be made. The Swedish version with Noomi Rapace far exceeds anything that the USA can do. Why would they even attempt it? I loved the Swedish versions.

Posted by Natalie in Houston ,

First I read the book(s). Then I saw the Swedish movie(s). And now I saw Fincher’s version. In all honesty: What I liked most was the American movie! I find it a bit hard to admit but of all the three artworks mentioned the US movie was the most skilfully done, flawless almost. The book on the other hand can be lengthy and boring at times, the cast of the Swedish movie (except Noomi Rapace, of course) was second quality.

Posted by Martin in Frankfurt, Germany ,

Martin.

I see it similar.

Posted by Markus in Berlin ,

Im sorry but I cant see how anyone can say the swedish “..Dragon Tattoo” is better. Finchers version got everything perfect from my point of view. And I too cant wait for the directors cut as Im sure there will most certainly be one for this film!

Posted by M. in Louisiana ,

I made sure to read GWDT before I saw either the Swedish or American film. Daniel Craig did a good job as Mikael, but I felt he still clung onto a little bit of his “James Bond” confidence. Take for instance his mental state after his “evening” with Martin Vanger, Mikael was shaken to the core after that night and Craig doesn’t show it so much. I still find him to be better than the Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, Michael IMO showed little emotion and over-all felt like a boring character.

Now don’t get more wrong, Noomi Rapace did Lisbeth first and really set the bar, but I think Rooney Mara set it just a little higher. Fist off, Noomi is very pretty, maybe even too pretty. Rooney truly embodied the awkward, anorexic-looking, golf club swinging Heroin we fell in love with in Steig’s Novels.

Posted by C.C. Hatcher in Meridian, ID ,

I just saw the American version and liked it a lot. I’m not sure if I liked it better than the Swedish one though. One thing I didn’t like was that the American version was so dark. I know Sweden days are pretty dark in the long winter, but don’t American directors know that they do have electricity. I thought Rooney did a great job, but I do like Noomi – she’s much tougher, which reflects all she’s been through. Just as a matter of interest I got the boxed set of all 3 Swedish movies – the extended versions, and they add an extra 2 hours total to the movies which makes them much closer to the books. Definitely worth seeing.

Posted by Eleanor in Lancaster UK ,

What I didn’t like: the way Mikael flipped Lisbeth over during sex in the American movie. It was about her control of the situation, not about the typical sex scene cliches so I think that was a misfire on Fincher’s part. Lisbeth asking for permission to kill Martin and Martin dying so easily without showing Lisbeth’s ability to save him but refusing to do so. The revenge scene with Bjurman and the dildo. You could see the cords in Noomi’s neck as she portrayed forcefully inserting the dildo and the camera shied away too much from that in the American version. It was too tame considering how violent the scenes of Bjurman raping Lisbeth were – those two scenes are supposed to be an eye for an eye, action and reaction, equal in tone and length. But they’re not, in my opinion.

I would have liked it if Mikael and Lisbeth had done more of the research together. It was weird for them to suddenly be all buddy-buddy when they hadn’t even spent much time together. It makes her seem like more of a loner (which I’ll grant is true to her character) then Fincher throws that away by making this Lisbeth a softer version of herself. Her reactions aren’t as strong, she’s not as hard-edged as Noomi or the Lisbeth of the books. I think Rooney did a great job, I just think Fincher envisioned a younger, less asocial, less borderline Asperger’s Lisbeth. And to me, that’s not really true to the character.

Lastly, I thought the opening credits were visually impressive and interesting, but they seemed somewhat out of place considering the look and tone of the rest of the movie.

Having said all that, I really did enjoy the movie. I don’t prefer it over the Swedish version, I just enjoy it as another retelling of a series that has really captured my attention. There are plusses and minuses with both versions, and even with Stieg’s books. But I find them all entertaining and enjoyable.

Posted by Jean in Seattle ,

LOVED Noomi as Lisbeth.

but Rooney IS Lisbeth.

Loved both movies, but David Fincher kicks ass

Posted by Maki in RJ ,

After reading the books seeing all three Swedish films as well as the American one, my take.

Swedish movie…..kills off Anita, messes with the initials in H’s bible, doesn’t explore Mikael and Erika or Lizbeth falling for Blomkvist, misstates the amount of money Lizbeth scams from Wennerstrom by a few hundred million $$.

American movie….no Australia, Anika becomes Harriet, Armansky way to young, Bjurmam as well. No Billy’s Pan Pizza

I enjoyed both movies…..apples and oranges and like both casts for the most part. Fincher’s movie was closer to the book and told the story better.

Salander….Rooney was good and lived up to the character and looked the part, but in Ziallan’s screenplay she just wasn’t as menacing and anti social enough. Replace nailed the roll. Of course we have the other two movies where she was the lead for her to build the character on. I can understand her not wanting to reprise the role. She spent 18 months living the part and shed almost 20lbs. To me she just embodied the Salander persona…a side ways look , a snarl, a arched eyebrow, a drag on a cigarette, a quick dismissal, much of it without dialog. I can only hope there will two more movies coming out of Hollywood as well written and directed. I am back rereading Tattoo..it’s been a couple of years and will be ordering the 3 pic box set to see the missing two hours from the mini series(aloha to

eleanor for the tip)..and here’s hoping for the fourth book.

Posted by hilogreeg in Hawaii ,

Martin – Why do you say you don’t want to acknowledge the US version is better? Are you anti-American?

Posted by Irish-German lady in Western Hemisphere ,

Irish-German lady: Didn’t say that, did I? Pretty mean way to twist my words, actually.

It hardly comes as a surprise that a remake seldom outperforms the original. Just for the record: when abroad, the two foreign countries I’ve spent most time in my life so far are – the U.S. and Sweden.

Posted by Martin in Frankfur, Germany ,

Well, we just finished watching the American version of GWTDT.

We have not read the books but we first saw the Swedish version in Swedish with English Subtitles. Sometimes very hard to follow, but mesmerizing still.

Noomi Rapace was absolutely outstanding and we liked all the principle characters very much. Very much like I would think Swedish people are. Good people who are reserved with impeccable manners.

After seeing the Swedish version I went looking for an English version and was lucky to find the three movie set in both Swedish and English with a fourth bonus DVD with biography of Stieg Larsson and updates on details of a fourth manuscript and the legal controversy. Interviews with Noomi and cast and crew. Excellent. All three movies are well over 2 hours long and riviting.

I was not impressed with the GWTDT American version. I found Rooney’s version of Lisbeth too soft with no conviction.

The changes made did not impress me at all. Mikael and Lisbeth work very closely together solving the murders and finding Harriet.

What happens in the first movie enables you to understand all that comes later. The GWPWF is just outstanding moviemaking. What happens to Lisbeth is so outrageous when you first see it without having any knowledge of the story at all, it has a huge impact. Which is the way we saw it.

IF Eva is able to complete the fourth novel, which she should be able to do, since she was so involved in the writing and knows Stieg’s heart, I know there would be such a huge audience for it. Eva deserves that opportunity as she was left with nothing from Stieg’s estate.

Posted by Careen Longhurst in Surrey, B.C. Canada ,

I like the American version the best. It stayed closely to the book until the ending which to me made more sense in the film. Craig/Mara were perfect and great supporting cast. The Swedish movide seem like a Law and Order mini series. I like Noomi but she seemed too pretty and to maculine. Mara as was stated previously is Lisbeth.

Also, I too was miffed at first about Blomkvist flipping Lisbeth over in the their first sex scene but upon further thought- I believe it was the actor’ choice to show how his character was also attracted to Lisbeth and engaged with her.

As for Lisbeth asking for permission to kill Martin, I think it showed character convergence. Blomkvist/Lisbeth are the flip side of the same coin. They both want to give justice to the unjust. Him thru his pen and her with her hands. The scene demostrated to Blomkvist that you have combat evil with evil. That there is only one way to get deal with people like Martin and that is to get rid of them.

Posted by sonya in new britain ,

I have to wholeheartedly agree with Jean in Seattle: The moral frigidity of the Swedish version is much more complex than the American version:

*Asking Blomkvist if Lisbeth can kill Martin is, in my mind, a huge misstep (and I HAVE listened to Fincher’s rationalization for it–I just don’t buy it). In the Swedish version Blomkvist’s near-rejection of Lisbeth upon finding out she did nothing to save Martin is poignant and dramatically crucial as a mirror for Mikael’s final “rejection” at the end of the novel (and the American film).

*Giving Lisbeth a big a$$ gun to shoot Martin versus allowing her to watch impassively as he burns? That strikes me as a “Dirty Harry (Harriet)” cop-out, an American stereotype. And you can draw your own Freudian conclusions from that…. (Swedish: The screams from the flaming car are just bone-chilling, compared to Fincher’s huge apocalyptic fireball ascending while Lisbeth is forty yards away, as if to say, “Bummer. Too late” and walk away.) The Swedish film on many accounts was much more (perversely) satisfying to me, though I am not a pervert.

*To Sonya in Great Britain’s point: I understand the convergence, but at the same time, I like to equate Blomkvist with Chandler’s Philip Marlowe: Is it possible for a “good” man to stay moral in an immoral universe? His conflicting emotions in the Swedish version (separating himself physically from Lisbeth when he finds she had a choice to save Martin but didn’t exercise it) more powerfully convey that convergence, indicated by the sweet threading of their hands in silence at the end of that scene. . . to me anyway.

I honestly respect all the opinions here; I’m just jotting down mine egotistically.

Posted by J in Michigan ,

I read the books and just saw all the movies and I personally did not like Craig that much as Blomkvist (I like the actor but I just didn’t buy his portrayal of Blomkvist). I think Michael Nyqvist did a better job and you could read him so easily. I like how the American version followed the book more closely though, so in that way I like how the complement each other.

One thing I did not love (read hated) in the books is the whole thing with Lisbeth falling for Mikael and I was glad the Swedish version stayed away from that (and from the whole Monica affair too). I thought it made Lisbeth hurt unnecessarily.

As for Noomi and Mara, I think they both captured the character splendidly, in some scenes more than others. I can really decide which actor is best.

In the end I was surprised at how I much I loved the Swedish version considering how I am always a purist when it comes to adaptations. I think I would like to see the whole American trilogy to decide.

Posted by Iantonia in Ottawa (ON), Canada ,

American version’s explanation of Harriet was not true to the book, therefore the Swedish version wins. Rapace’s portrayal of LS is more menacing, which I liked also.

Posted by Sandy in Timmins, ON, Canada ,

I loved Mara Rooney’s performance. But I saw it before I read the books and saw the Swedish Extended Version….and I guess the thing that bugs me the most is that Rooney has those ice-blue eyes…and she is so lovely, I just didn’t believe her as Lisbeth, since in the books whenever Lisbeth was angry, scared, threatened or brooding, her eyes turned “glittering black”…. And that line “May I kill him?” after she cuts down Blomquist seemed good until I read the book and saw the Swedish versions. I’m not a Daniel Craig fan: I have never seen a James Bond movie and I’ve never thought he was good in anything. I did like Christopher Plummer very much, in the American version. What just makes me mad is that we Americans re-make SO many beautiful foreign films….why?….because we are too lazy to read subtitles? Well, if that’s how you feel, you are missing some of the best films ever made…. Noomi Rapace is MY Lisbeth. She can make her eyes black… although I do agree that Rooney is beyond beautiful…. I’ll see the other 2 American films when they come out…but I’ll be comparing the whole time.

Posted by MelindaLu in Seattle ,