History Literature / TheMillenniumTrilogy

[[folder: Unique to the movies]]

* AgeLift: Besides Creator/DanielCraig, all actors who portrayed Mikael and Lisbeth were older than the written version's age.

* CastingGag: For the American adaptation, Creator/DavidFincher cast [[Film/JamesBond Daniel Craig]] as Mikael. The gag would have paid off in the third film, when Mikael spends the entire novel playing spy games vs. "The Section."
** This trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted in the movie adaptation.]] In the books, Mikael's sex life is no big deal. In the films, it is apparently front page material for not only tabloids but rival newspapers.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The U.S. film's opening credits. So, so much.
* EyeScream: The opening credits of the American film include a lit match falling onto Daniel Craig's eye, and later a fly hatching out of it.

* InJoke: In the American version of the film, all the characters say Lisbeth's name with English pronunciation, "Liz-bith" or "Liz-beth". But toward the end of the movie when Martin learns her name, he says it with Swedish pronunciation as "Leez-bet," which makes sense seeing as Martin is played by Stellan Skarsgård, the only actual Swede to have a major role in the movie.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Daniel Craig in the American film, the only actor to make no attempt at a Swedish accent.

** The Creator/DavidFincher adaptation is a much stronger example of this, retaining much more of the novel's depth and detail while running only six minutes longer than the Swedish film. Notably included in this version but cut from the previous one are the bulk of the Wennerström subplot, Blomkvist's daughter, the original Vanger family configuration, and a fair amount of screen time for Erika Berger. Anita's still dead though.

* ProductPlacement:
** The movie is filled with this for Swedish companies, including an almost gratuitous promoting of SVT, the public service channel. There's a rather perverse ValuesDissonance to it since Larsson was a noted communist and it's highly unlikely he'd have approved. There's also a bit of a TakeThat to SVT in the book, when Mikael buys a small TV with a rabbit-ear antenna (to pick up the broadcast channel SVT) for his stay in Hedeby. His neighbors invite him over to their house if he ever wants to watch anything on ''real'' TV.
** The American version features the characters' [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh MacBooks]] quite prominently -- though really it would feature whichever brand of computer they used prominently given the nature of the story. [=Mc=]Donald's is also plainly visible.
*** All versions, including the novels, are [[EveryoneOwnsAMac very specific about Macs.]]
** For the nerdier types, the actual placement of Macs in the Fincher film is rather strange. The exact timeline of the film isn't clear, but it's either a present-day OS (Tiger, circa 2005) running on computers from the future (the unibody [=Mac=]Book Pros from 2008, which came with Leopard), or computers of today running an OS from several years before they came out.
** In the American version Lisbeth enjoys chowing down on Happy Meals, even while staying at a posh luxury hotel.
* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe in the American film, as [[spoiler: Martin]] likes putting on Music/{{Enya}} during his murders on ''Daniel Craig'''s suggestion.
--> "Sail away, sail away, sail awaaaay..."
* SpotlightStealingSquad:
** While the original books have Blomkvist and Salander as equal protagonists, the [[TheFilmOfTheBook Swedish movies]] go out of their way to make Salander the star. Her weaknesses are cut back (most notably her social awkwardness), portraying her as less of a flawed human and more of an invincible force of nature. Blomkvist suffers in that his intelligence and journalistic competence are lowered in order to make Salander more intelligent by comparison.
** Notably averted with the American films, which in keeping with the books put the two protagonists on a more equal footing.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrFgnizJ7qY second trailer]] for the US film is a loose summary of the ''entire story'' with the exception of the two ''really'' big plot twists ([[spoiler: Martin]] and [[spoiler: Harriet.]])
* TranslationConvention: Played oddly in the English film with visible text, which will be in English when it's relevant (e-mails, newspapers, the tattoo that Lisbeth draws on Bjurman) but in Swedish when it's not.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Lisbeth's treatment of [[spoiler:Bjurman is so harsh that it borders on MoralEventHorizon.]] But it was so precise and ingenious that it could qualify as a {{Crowning Moment Of Awesome}}: [[spoiler:rather than killing the man, Lisbeth opted to make Bjurman suffer the ''exact same abuse'' he put her through, up to every little detail, including the rape and the blackmail, just to make him realize how it felt. However, leaving Bjurman alive left him free to make new plans against her,]] which might have ended very badly.

** Palmgren gets a TearJerker and MomentOfAwesome at the trial when he sees the [[spoiler: DVD of Bjurman raping Salander]] and asks why Lisbeth didn't tell anyone. He [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls out the justice system]] for failing his former ward, and for destroying her trust in calling for help.
* PragmaticAdaptation: Once more, most of the important plot points are intact, with only a few minor subplots cut for the sake of time or clarity. Erika's never left ''Millennium'' (and has no stalker), Trinity and the rest of Hacker Republic are reduced to just Plague, and Wadensjö's battle with Clinton for control of The Section is missing. However, there are a couple of head-scratching moment differences. Christer Malm inexplicably loses his nerve as it pertains to ''Millennium's'' work, Niedermann is reduced to just a GiantMook that shows up every half-hour or so to hurt or kill people (even at one point attemping to attack Lisbeth while she's at the hospital), much of Annika's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome amazing legal work]] is gone, and the ending changes Lisbeth and Mikael's renewed friendship into an awkward "Um...okay...bye." deal.

* BookEnds: In the Swedish trilogy - the first lines of ''Dragon Tattoo'' are spoken by a reporter for SVT - a very pregnant Alexandra Pascalidou AsHerself, who's reporting on the outcome of Mikael Blomkvist's libel trial. She makes another appearance (significantly less pregnant) close to the end of ''Hornet's Nest,'' this time reporting on [[spoiler: the newly exposed Secret Section within Sapo.]]

An American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' saw release in 2011; Creator/DavidFincher directed, ''Steven Zallan'' wrote the screenplay, and the team of [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and ''Atticus Ross'' handled the music. The cast for the film included Creator/RooneyMara as Lisbeth and current Film/JamesBond Creator/DanielCraig as Mikael. Though plans for a sequel were discussed, Mara and Craig ultimately did not return to their roles. In 2017, it was announced that Fede Alvarez will be directing an adaptation of ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'', with Creator/ClaireFoy as Lisbeth.

* HollywoodHacking: Mostly averted by Lisbeth and her fellow hackers; for the most part it's extremely accurate. All of the members of Hacker Nation are good with computers, Lisbeth particularly. And not in the "take them out of the box and set them up" way, more in the "give her a high-level PC and a couple days and she'll get you the Pentagon's secret files" way.

* DysfunctionalFamily: The [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]], [[IncrediblyLamePun punning]] inhabitants of Hacker Nation, the online community that comprises most of the people Lisbeth considers friends.

* PragmaticAdaptation: Once more, most of the important plot points are intact, with only a few minor subplots cut for the sake of time or clarity. Erika's never left ''Millennium'' (and has no stalker), Trinity and the rest of Hacker Nation are reduced to just Plague, and Wadensjö's battle with Clinton for control of The Section is missing. However, there are a couple of head-scratching moment differences. Christer Malm inexplicably loses his nerve as it pertains to ''Millennium's'' work, Niedermann is reduced to just a GiantMook that shows up every half-hour or so to hurt or kill people (even at one point attemping to attack Lisbeth while she's at the hospital), much of Annika's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome amazing legal work]] is gone, and the ending changes Lisbeth and Mikael's renewed friendship into an awkward "Um...okay...bye." deal.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Larsson said the character of Lisbeth was his version of a modern-day, grown-up PippiLongstocking, which accounts for her determination, anarchist spirit and red hair (she dyes it black). Sadly, her absent father is not a jolly pirate. It also gets {{lampshaded}} in ''Dragon Tattoo'' when Armansky, Frode and Lisbeth are discussing Mikael and his nickname of "Kalle Blomkvist" comes up. Lisbeth says she understands why he hates the name and that she would punch anyone who ever referred to her as "Pippi Longstocking", causing Armansky to squirm because he's thought of her that way before.

An American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' saw release in 2011; Creator/DavidFincher directed, ''Steven Zallan'' wrote the screenplay, and the team of [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and ''Atticus Ross'' handled the music. The cast for the film included Creator/RooneyMara as Lisbeth and current Film/JamesBond Creator/DanielCraig as Mikael. Though plans for a sequel were discussed, Mara and Craig ultimately did not return to their roles. In 2017, it was announced that Fede Alvarez will be directing an adaptation of ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'', with Claire Foy as Lisbeth.

''The Millennium Trilogy'' is a series of [[GenreBusting crime fiction / psychological thrillers / dark conspiracy]] books by the late [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} Swedish]] author Stieg Larsson, has won several awards and international acclaim -- but it was not meant to be a trilogy. Larsson [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] before the first book saw publication, and he had completed two more books at that time. Rumors say he planned as many as ten books with the characters from the trilogy. These books became bestsellers in their home country, due in part to their international attention.

The second book: ''The Girl Who Played with Fire''[[note]]A direct translation of the Swedish title in this case.[[/note]] (2006) has Blomkvist aiding two intrepid researchers the Swedish sex trafficking industry, which is linked to a mysterious criminal boogeyman known as "Zala". After the researchers begin digging more deeply into Zala's identity, they are found slain in their home, with Salander's prints on the murder weapon. While Blomkvist tries to track her down and discover the truth, Lisbeth herself begins a campaign against Zala, intent on revenge for more than just the researchers...

* SecretPolice: The Section, which Blomkvist terms the "Zalachenko club" inside Säpo (the Swedish equivalent to the American CIA or British MI-6). Säpo is a known government entitity, subject to rules and oversight, but "The Section" is a seperate autonomous division that is outside of and above Säpo control. They were the ones who helped Zalachenko and screwed Lisbeth's life up to keep him safe.

An American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' saw release in 2011; Creator/DavidFincher directed, ''Steven Zallan'' wrote the screenplay, and the team of [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and ''Atticus Ross'' handled the music. The cast for the film included Creator/RooneyMara as Lisbeth and current Film/JamesBond Creator/DanielCraig as Mikael. Though plans for a sequel were discussed, Mara and Craig ultimately did not return to their roles. In 2017, it was announced that Fede Alvarez will be directing an adaptation of ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'', with Clair Foy as Lisbeth.

An American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' saw release in 2011; Creator/DavidFincher directed, ''Steven Zallan'' wrote the screenplay, and the team of [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and ''Atticus Ross'' handled the music. The cast for the film included Creator/RooneyMara as Lisbeth and current Film/JamesBond Creator/DanielCraig as Mikael. Though plans for a sequel were discussed, Mara and Craig ultimately did not return to their roles. In 2017, it was announced that Fede Alvarez will be directing an adaptation of ''The Girl in the Spider's Web''; the actors playing the new leads have not yet been cast.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: There was some complaint that, the couple times Blomkvist is shot at, he doesn't panic or lose his nerve the way a civilian would. But, as the books mention, Sweden has compulsive military service (or had; it was abolished in 2010), and Blomkvist has some military training.

* CastingGag: For the American adaptation, Creator/DavidFincher cast [[Film/JamesBond Daniel Craig]] as Mikael. The gag doesn't pay off until the third in the trilogy, when Mikael spends the entire novel playing spy games vs. "The Section."

* AntiHero: Lisbeth is a Type IV. Mikael is a Type II. While being a compassionate idealist, he doesn't shy away from bending several laws to expose corruption.

The first book: ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' [[note]]Swedish title translates as ''Men Who Hate Women''[[/note]] (2005) begins with middle-aged reporter Mikael Blomkvist sentenced to prison for libel. While Blomkvist waits to serve his term, famous industrialist Henrik Vanger hires him to investigate a forty year old cold case: The disappearance and presumed murder of his then sixteen year old grandniece, Harriet. Blomkvist's investigation brings him into contact with [[DarkActionGirl Lisbeth Salander,]] the antisocial, borderline disturbed, and brilliant researcher who Vanger hired as a private investigator to do a security check on Blomkvist. Salander dislikes authority and violently opposes any form of abuse against women, and when Blomkvist comes to her for help in his investigation, she becomes his unlikely aide as they zero in on the truth behind Harriet's disappearance, which appears to involve a serial killer and rapist...

The second book: ''The Girl Who Played with Fire''[[note]]A direct translation of the Swedish title in this case.[[/note]] (2006) has Blomkvist aiding two intrepid researchers the Swedish sex trafficking industry, which is linked to a mysterious criminal boogeyman known as "Zala." After the researchers begin digging more deeply into Zala's identity, they are found slain in their home, with Salander's prints on the murder weapon. While Blomkvist tries to track her down and discover the truth, Lisbeth herself begins a campaign against Zala, intent on revenge for more than just the researchers...

In the third book: ''The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest'' [[note]]Swedish title translates as ''The Air Castle That Was Blown Up;'' the Scandinavian idiom "air castle" is roughly akin to the English idiom "pipe dream."[[/note]](2007) Blomkvist discovers that a shadowy faction within the Swedish Security Service have manipulated the traumatic events of Lisbeth's past, including her history with the mysterious "Zala," and will stop at nothing to hide their decades-old deeds. Lisbeth's latest actions threaten to bust the conspiracy wide open, so the faction moves to clean up all evidence of their misdeeds -- including Lisbeth herself...

The publisher has now hired author ''David Lagercrantz'' to write more books in the series, which will be entirely his own invention without any inspiration from Larsson's plans. This fourth book with the title ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'' [[note]] Swedish title translates as ''That Which Does Not Kill Us'' [[/note]] was released in 2015.

The publisher has now hired author ''David Lagercrantz'' to write more books in the series, which will be entirely his own invention without any inspiration from Larsson's plans. This fourth book with the title ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'' [[note]] Swedish title translates as ''That Which Does Not Kill Us'' [[/note]] is expected to be released in 2015.

* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: Casting Creator/NoomiRapace as Lisbeth Salander obviously made things a lot easier for the costume department and the writers. Although finding a grown woman with all of Lisbeth's physical traits would be next to impossible, they got lucky in several regards. Noomi, like Lisbeth, is very small-breasted as well as dark-eyed with a naturally pale complexion, and in her late teens had numerous ear and facial piercings that she readily got repierced for the role. However, she's not as short as Lisbeth at 5'5" compared to 4'11.

* WhamLine: "Zalachenko is [[spoiler: her father]]." It's not quite the same, but for those who don't see it coming, this line has an impact comparable to a certain revelation in ''TheEmpireStrikesBack''.

* {{Retcon}}: The explanation for Lisbeth's Internet handle of Wasp goes from stinging like one in her boxing sessions with Paolo Roberto to her reading comic books as a child and liking the character of TheWasp.

* TheDreaded: No one involved in the human trafficking ring wants to talk about Zala. Just mentioning his name is enough to make them seat bullets.

An American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' saw release in 2011; Creator/DavidFincher directed, ''Steven Zallan'' wrote the screenplay, and the team of [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and ''Atticus Ross'' handled the music. The cast for the film included Creator/RooneyMara as Lisbeth and current Film/JamesBond Creator/DanielCraig as Mikael. Despite the film's modest box office performance, Mara and Craig will return to their roles for ''Played with Fire'' (though it remains unclear if Fincher will return to direct). Several rumors say ''Played with Fire'' and ''Kicked the Hornet's Nest'' will film simultaneously, though these rumors remain unconfirmed.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Mikael is established early on in ''Dragon Tattoo'' as being the other party in his publisher's open marriage.

* FriendlyEnemies: [[spoiler:Martin Vanger]], like every good murder-mystery villain, comes across as affable because he goes out of his way to help Mikael hunt down Harriet's killer. [[spoiler: Zig-zagged. Martin didn't kill Harriet, and genuinely hopes Blomkvist can figure out what happened to her. It's only when he realizes Mikael has discovered his and his father's killings of other girls that he decides Mikael is a liability.]]

* LockedRoomMystery: The mystery of Harriet Vanger's death in ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' is approached like a very large example. The night of the Vanger family dinner, the bridge connecting Hedeby Island to the mainland was completely blocked by a spectacular auto accident.

* SadisticChoice: A rare example of one being presented by the good guys. [[spoiler:After Lisbeth and Blomkvist get to the bottom of Martin's activities and uncover Harriet, they're asked not to go public. This will spare Harriet the media circus, but also deny justice and closure to Gottfried and Martin's (many other) victims. It also represents Blomkvist selling out and committing a TreacheryCoverUp, so he still feels dirty even after Lisbeth negotiates a [[TakeAThirdOption Third Option]].]]

** Not really: Bublanski and the task force assigned with finding Salander have Bjork's report which [[spoiler: reveals the coverup]], while Holger Palmgren and Armansky plan to help [[spoiler: Salander]].

* {{Jerkass}}: Oi, where to begin? First, there's Officer Faste, who believes Lisbeth's nuts and refuses to accept any possibility of her innocence, because he's got issues with lesbians and thinks she is one. Then, Milton Security employee Hedstrom, who despises her for threatening to expose him for defrauding a client. Nils Bjurman, who sexually assaulted and threatened her, Dr. Teleborian, who had the 12 year-old Lisbeth tied up in the mental hospital whenever she defied him, and so this will stay a relatively short list, Prosecutor Ekström, who plays up the media frenzy surrounding her just because he likes being in the spotlight. Oh, and [[AntiHero Lisbeth]]

* BavarianFireDrill: Erica Berger's bodyguard Linda pulls this while [[spoiler: apprehending her stalker, coworker Peter Fredericksen, who's broken into her apartment, stolen sex tapes and an important article, and sent filthy emails.]] When a passerby walks by, Linda claims that "This is a police affair." Which makes it more awesome when she reveals to [[spoiler: Fredericksen,]] "I'm not with the police."

* BlatantLies: Eckstrom after recalling the Bjork report claims that Sepo told him it was a clever forgery. Officer Sonia Murdig calls this "bullshit" and threatens to take her copy to the press.

* ChekhovsArmory: Lisbeth's laptop, Bjork's report from 1991, and the DVD that Lisbeth made two years earlier all come in quite handy.
* ChekhovsSkill: It's a good thing Mikhail remembers his training from the army, when the Section [[spoiler: orders a hit on him.]] He puts up a good fight in time for the police to show up.
* ContrivedCoincidence/ ThereAreNoCoincidences: Armansky and Blomkvist take note that it's quite convenient for whoever protected Zalachenko in the past that he got killed on the same day that Giannini and Blomkvist were both robbed of their copies of the Bjork report. Good thing that Blomkvist had [[SomethingWeForgot one last copy . . .]]

* GondorCallsForAid: Blomkvist assembles the Knights of the Idiotic Round Table to help Lisbeth, while also paying his sister to be Lisbeth's lawyer. The Knights include himself, Palmgren, Armansky, half of Millennium, and [[spoiler: Officer Bublankski.]] Armansky even uses this to justify alerting Sepo about the 1991 scandal.

* PapaWolf: Holger Palmgren and Inspector Bublanski towards Salander, Holger because he was her guardian and Bublanski because of what happened to her as a child. Bublanski is also protective of Sonia Murdig, forbidding her from leaking Bjork's report since it would cost her a lot and possibly lead to nothing.

* PragmaticAdaptation: Once more, most of the important plot points are intact, with only a few minor subplots cut for the sake of time or clarity. Erika's never left ''Millennium'' (and has no stalker), Trinity and the rest of Hacker Nation are reduced to just Plague, and Wadensjöö's battle with Clinton for control of The Section is missing. However, there are a couple of head-scratching moment differences. Christer Malm inexplicably loses his nerve as it pertains to ''Millennium's'' work, Niedermann is reduced to just a GiantMook that shows up every half-hour or so to hurt or kill people (even at one point attemping to attack Lisbeth while she's at the hospital), much of Annika's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome amazing legal work]] is gone, and the ending changes Lisbeth and Mikael's renewed friendship into an awkward "Um...okay...bye." deal.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Eckstrom makes this mistake when trying to convince Giannini to call off the trial, and to get Salander committed indefinitely.

** Gianinni doesn't feel confident in defending Lisbeth because she's a woman's rights lawyer, not a defense lawyer. Mikhail assures her that she's more than up to the job. And he's right.