Stieg Larsson's Millennium novel series birth many Dragon Tattoo movie adaptation featuring Lisbeth Salander. Here's every film, ranked.
Stieg Larsson is the journalist and activist responsible for the best-selling Millennium trilogy of crime novels, which were published in 2005 after Larsson's death in 2004. In 2008, Larsson became one of best-selling fiction authors thanks to the English translation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest becoming the bestselling books in 2010. While only the first three books were released initially, the success of those three led to the other related novels Larsson wrote to be released. With all the success of the novels, what better way to celebrate such a popular franchise than to adapt it into films?
In 2009, Larsson's home country of Sweden chose to recreate the Milleniumtrilogy on the silver screen. The original film trilogy was in the books' native language of Swedish, and while those films were well-received, critics argued that due to the language barrier, the series didn't reach as wide an audience as it could have if the films were made in English. In 2011, David Fincher directed an English remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was subject to universal acclaim, earning the film a number of awards. Many films have been released over the last decade based on the Milleniumfranchise. Recently, per IndieWire, Amazon announced a new TV series about the franchise's titular character Lisbeth Salander. Until further details are released, here's every Millennium and Dragon Tattoo movie, ranked.
The most recent installation and arguably the worst-reviewed is The Girl in The Spider's Web. After the release of Fincher's The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, there was a great deal of demand for the director to finish off the series with Rooney Mara. However, after both Fincher and Mara declined to return to the series, as outlined by Screen Rant, The Girl in the Spider's Web served as a soft-reboot/sequel to said film, with Fede Alvarez directing and Claire Foy starring as Lisbeth Salander. The film revolves around Lisbeth as she battles against a notorious organization known as "The Spiders". It was ultimately a box-office bomb and is considered the worst film in the Millenium franchise.
Related: Here Are 5 Reasons Why David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Deserves a Sequel
The final film in the original Swedish trilogy is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Set after the events of The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest follows Lisbeth Salander who, after being shot in the head by her father, awaits trial for three murders. With the help of Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth hopes to clear her name by exposing everything she's faced leading to the murders. The film was released two months after its prequel and was subject to mixed reviews from both fans and critics. Many fans argued that the film served as a disappointing conclusion to the Swedish Millennium series and could have been better executed.
The second installation in the Swedish Millenium trilogy is The Girl Who Played With Fire. Following the events of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth is accused of multiple murders while investigating a sex-trafficking ring. While Lisbeth goes on the run to evade capture from the authorities, old-friend Mikael works with his staff at Millenium to clear her name. Noomi Rapace shines her brightest in this film, as Lisbeth not only struggles to manage being framed for murders she did not commit, but she is forced to face her horrifying past when her father manages to locate her.
Related: These Are Noomi Rapace's Best Performances, Ranked
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the classic that started it all. When journalist Mikael is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance and suspected murder of his niece 40 years prior, private investigator Lisbeth Salander is brought on board. Together, the pair discover all the Vanger family secrets while uncovering the identity of Henrietta's killer. The film stars Rapace and Michael Nyqvist as the main stars of the film. While some viewers argued that the level of graphic violence was too much to stomach, many viewers found the uncensored violence wonderfully revealing of how violence towards women is often accepted as a fact rather than treated as a crime. The film won numerous awards, including a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language.
An English remake of the original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Fincher's version tops our list. Starring big names like Daniel Craig and Christopher Plummer, alongside Mara, the film was released two years after the Swedish trilogy. Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a critical and commercial success, with special praise for Mara and Craig's performances. The film was nominated for a number of awards for everything from the editing to the soundtrack. In fact, the film took home the Academy Award for Best Editing. Most consider this film to be the best film of the Millenium franchise, with special praise for Mara's transformative portrayal of Lisbeth Salander.
Started at MovieWeb in November of 2021.