John: Revenge is Swede
Our one-two review style is particularly appropriate to TGWTDT, as I’m part of the approximately 50% of the world that hasn’t read the book, while Laureen is part of the other half. Viewing this movie with a newbie’s eyes, I thought it was great – but while I loved its icy settings and efficient Scandinavian pacing, some of the character development seemed to get steamrolled by the relentlessly advancing plot. (Apparently, according to my partner-in-film, reading the novel first fills in these gaps.)
However, if it comes down to choosing between more fully-realized characters or more Swedish ass-kicking, I’ll take the latter any day. It wasn’t as cool and atmospheric as the original Insomnia with Stellan Skarsgard, but at least he gets to be in the Hollywood remake.
Laureen: Adjective Clauses Aren’t All That
Book or film, TGWTDT boils down to the characters for me. What exactly would the world do without Lisbeth’s troubled past and eyelinered sass? Well, if it were my 
world, we’d all watch La Femme Nikita, drink a bottle of whiskey, and call it a night. That said, I love that an unkown Swedish author stormed the gates of the mystery/thriller genre; it’s just that TGWTDT wasn’t really my cup of tea.
Unfortunately, the movie takes everything great about these characters and waters it down so much you might need a pint of glögg to figure out why you should care about their fates (case in point: Mikael goes from pursuer of worldly justice and amateur gigolo in the book to moralistic monogamist on screen). But hey, if you haven’t read the book and are on the hunt for a sleek foreign thriller, this film won’t disappoint.
The Consensus: Totally watchable, but we’re still curious to see what Hollywood does with it.
Biggest Surprise: That we got through this review without making a single IKEA joke.
Favorite Character: Lisbeth Salander
Most Necessary Re-Do: Casting, with the exception of Lisbeth.
New Tagline: All parts needed for assembly not included (okay, make that one IKEA joke).
