4 stars (out of 5)
By R. Kurt Osenlund
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” or “Men Who Hate Women,” as it's called in its native Sweden, where it broke box-office records last year to become the most successful Scandinavian film in history, constantly straddles the line between being old and being bold. An adaptation of the first book of late author Stieg Larsson's international smash-hit “Millenium” trilogy, the film, adeptly if unexceptionally directed by Niels Arden Oplev, unfolds like a lot of other elaborate whodunits, at least in terms of the mechanics of its basic structure. There's nothing all that novel or blindsiding about the major plot developments, which is never a good thing to say when discussing a modern mystery movie (even if it's clearly aiming to evoke some classic mystery-movie mojo). But there is indeed an engulfing story here, and as it sprints through most of its 152 minutes, the film gives forth an attitude so fierce it winds up standing out after all.
By R. Kurt Osenlund
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” or “Men Who Hate Women,” as it's called in its native Sweden, where it broke box-office records last year to become the most successful Scandinavian film in history, constantly straddles the line between being old and being bold. An adaptation of the first book of late author Stieg Larsson's international smash-hit “Millenium” trilogy, the film, adeptly if unexceptionally directed by Niels Arden Oplev, unfolds like a lot of other elaborate whodunits, at least in terms of the mechanics of its basic structure. There's nothing all that novel or blindsiding about the major plot developments, which is never a good thing to say when discussing a modern mystery movie (even if it's clearly aiming to evoke some classic mystery-movie mojo). But there is indeed an engulfing story here, and as it sprints through most of its 152 minutes, the film gives forth an attitude so fierce it winds up standing out after all.
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