Context is extremely important when evaluating the quality of any creative endeavor. This is especially true of film. There are many factors that go into the development and making of a movie that not giving them some consideration would be unfair. The “Millenium Trilogy” films based on the book series of the same name by Stieg Larsson is a perfect case study in how context can affect the quality of a film or in this case a film franchise.
The Swedish version of third trilogy installment “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest was released stateside this past weekend. Along with the first installment, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the second installment, The Girl Who Played with Fire which have been available online and on DVD for some time here, the entire trilogy of films is finally available for American audiences. This is great news for fans of the books and foreign films alike— however, it is unfortunate that the films ultimately fall short as a franchise.
The first film in the series, Dragon Tattoo is an exceptional work on so many levels. The story, which stays incredibly true to the source material, is tense and perfectly laid out by director Niels Arden Oplev. Oplev’s visual style also compliments the thematic elements of the story wonderfully, and the film truly feels cinematic. Amazing performances by Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace in the two lead roles bring the story to life, and the chemistry between the two drives the action throughout. The notice and offers that Oplev, Nyqvist and Rapace are all receiving notice and offers from Hollywood are beyond deserved. The film stands up against anything put out by American studios in recent years.
Unfortunately this is the part of the story where context comes into play. Successfully pulling off a film trilogy of any kind is a tall order. Maintaining a consistent feel and level of quality is always challenging. Due to time and scheduling constraints, likely related to a rapidly approaching American film adaptation, Oplev declined directorial duties on the second and third films. The job went instead to Daniel Alfredson. Alfredson does an admirable job with both Fire” and “Hornet’s Nest” but seems limited by even more contextual factors.
Originally only “Dragon Tattoo” was meant to be released in theaters. The final two films were to be made for television either as TV movies or as an extended mini-series. This fact clearly manifests itself in the visual style of each film as the final two are shot in a much more straightforward manner that one would expect from a television show. In contrast with the deeply theatrical visuals of the first film the latter two fall flat.
It is apparent that these films wanted very much to stay true to the books just as the first one did. However the intricate and at times confusing storylines of the second and third installments lend themselves to some trimming and simplifying which unfortunately is not present in either. The films feel drawn out and that sense of urgency and tension that so wonderfully drove the first film gets muddled and lost quickly. They completely lose any hope of living up to the first film when the dynamic pairing of Nyqvist and Rapace is all but broken up and the two share increasingly less time together on screen in both the second and third film.
All in all the trilogy is better than most of the other offerings in theaters these days but only barely thanks to the strength of the first film. Diehard fans of the book series should feel obligated to see these Swedish versions while casual fans and fans of great film in general should probably just check out “Dragon Tattoo” and wait for the David Fincher-directed American versions to be released.