Daniel Craig (right) and Michael Nyqvist (left) as Mikael Blomkvist
And here we go with part two of this. This one is going to be a bit shorter than the last, as there's less differences in the back half of the movie.
First off, there's not enough time given to build Lisbeth and Mikael's relationship in the original version. The new one waited until after Mikael had been shot for them to go to bed together, when he was in a vulnerable position. Another note here is that the sex scenes show again that Noomi isn't physically right for the role. She's much too muscular for it, and that shows even more when she has her top off.
I do enjoy the original, more active Inspector Morell. The actor who plays him in the new one is also good, but isn't given a whole lot to do. Him still being on the police force, and involved with Mikael's investigation is kind of fun. Points to the Swedish version for it.
The scene with Harald Vanger in the original is much different than the scene in the American version, but I think both work just as well. The original is intense, and shows that Harald is still a crazy nazi through and through, while the new one paints him as a much more down to earth character, while still being kind of a scumbag. But an honest scumbag.
I prefer Mikael and Lisbeth concurrently figuring out that Martin Vanger is a serial killer following in his fathers footsteps in the American version more than Lisbeth figuring it out and Mikael being caught with his pants down in the original. The American film shows him as being more competent, while he comes off as kind of a dope in the original due to this.
Martin's kill room in the new one is a more interesting set, visually, but the original seems more real, like an actual room converted for this purpose as opposed to a room built specifically for it. The scene that plays out there is better in the American film though, thanks to the performances of Craig, who seems bewildered and in shock, Skaragard, who seems more affable although evil, and better writing for the dialogue all around. Lisbeth's rescue via hitting Martin upside the head with a golf club is also done better in the new one, where it's a single shot that visible breaks and dislocates Martin's jaw, as opposed to several, weaker looking shots in the original. It's also missing the great "May I kill him?" line from her directed at Mikael before she gives chase.
The car chase is better in the American film, but the outcome is better in the Swedish one. Martin and Lisbeth coming face to face as he lays in his wrecked truck, begging for help, as she has flashbacks to burning her father alive in his car when she was 12 works very well. The shrieks as the truck catches fire, and Martin burns alive are also a nice touch.
Anita being dead in the original, and her death being something that is common knowledge, isn't as good as the American version where Harriet has in fact come face to face with Mikael while posing as Anita. It's a nice set up and pay off that works really well, and is missing in the original.
The new film also goes more in depth on how exactly Lisbeth stole the millions of dollars from Wennerstrom in the epilogue sequence. This is much better than her showing up in the very last scene, now blonde for some reason or another, that the original does.
In conclusion, the Swedish version is not a bad film by any means, but it is missing certain things that the American version does have. The American version also does more things better than the Swedish version than it does worse. The original is certainly worth watching, and I'm looking forward to watching the two sequels that are included in the set I bought in the coming days, but I'm also hopeful that David Fincher and Co. will get to do American version of the last two books as well.
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