Millennium

I haven't read the books so can't comment on how faithful this 9 hour version is compared to the 3 theatrical release versions. However, I understand them to be largely faithful. It has been over 10 years since I first watched the Girl films, but the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remains one of my favourite films ever. The hollywood remake was also perfect, however, for its Swedish origins and a more perfect Lisbeth in Noomi Rapace, the original remains as good as ever. With 30 minutes more footage in it, this first story felt even better, especially the first 90 minutes which is better paced and we see more of Lisbeth and Michael working together and more detail about how they solved the crime. So if you are going to watch the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo then watch the version in this miniseries, it is better than the theatrical release.

Similarly, if you are going to watch the other two movies, then it is better to watch the extended versions available in this series as the pacing is better and explanation of the plot (which can get intricate at times) is clearer. However, in my opinion the 2nd and 3rd stories just don't live up to the quality and entertainment of the 1st one. This is a criticism of the source material probably rather than this adaptation. Everything that I and others love about Dragon Tattoo is the mystery, as well as the fledging relationship between Lisbeth and Michael. The 2nd and 3rd stories have much less mystery and virtually no character development between Lisbeth and Michael as they have very little time spent together. Nevertheless, as a fan of the first story and therefore the characters, it is interesting to see more unfold about Lisbeth's back story and how her friends work together to protect her from evil forces.

Dragon Tattoo: 10/10 Played with fire: 8/10 Hornets nest: 7/10.

As much as I loved the original film adaptation, and I definitely loved that, the six episode Swedish mini-series contains much more information, much more emotional depth and breadth, and is a much more rewarding experience for the viewer.

Even the addition of long slow closeups of Lisbeth Salander are filled with meaning, emotion, and add greatly to our understanding of her character and her history. Noomi Rapace knocked this one right out of the park. Often, her performance was so strong I found myself actually holding my breath.

With the additional scenes, not footage, by the way, actual intended scenes, we get more of the investigations, and that proves ultimately to be so much more rewarding.

The "Millennium Trilogy" may just end up being my all time favorite adaptation of one of my all time favorite series of novels.

I've seen all three original movies (plus the perfectly fine U.S. adaptation) and read the novels later. If one definition of a "10" rating is something that you know you will watch again (and again), then this six-part series from which three movies were "condensed" is the definitive version to watch and to collect. They expand the story back to its original scope, showing how the first movie is really just the beginning of the mysteries to be unearthed. They ultimately deliver a riveting story of cynical evil loosed by the amoral schemes of people who think they know what is "best."

Some have remarked on the violence, yet that violence is sparse and hardly what I would call "gratuitous." The first movie contains the only example of what might be called "triggering" (unless you have personally experienced bloodshed or war), and yet even that incident is balanced by a cathartic comeuppance.

Adult fans of mystery and intrigue on an international scale should not miss this excellent example.

Everytime they changed something from the books, I was a bit dissappointed and sometimes evem frustrated. Also the characters even the main ones fall short to the ones from the book. But when you look at it just as a movie-trilogy it is told in a captivating way, with a good pacing and good actors. The last one was my personal favourite of the three.

An improvement over and already brilliant story. The serialized story benefits greatly its development. So masterful and engaging.