The Last Movie I Saw

I understand that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (directed by Niels Arden Oplev) is some sort of international phenomenon in its literary incarnation, though I hadn't heard of it when I went to see the movie made from the novel (apparently only the first such movie, as Hollywood is set to remake this Swedish version). I found the film very entertaining, but flawed in that it seemed to try overly hard to cram in more from the book than necessary, or at least that was my impression not having read the book. I know a lot of people complain that movies made from popular books never match their source, but I don't agree-- sometimes the movie is as good or better (two examples: The Big Sleep and High Fidelity). The two media offer different strengths and attributes for telling a story and there's no reason why they have to match up exactly. In this case, while the movie is generally well-done, there are a few segments that seem to drag in relation to the main plot. Yes, those scenes provide some interesting exposition or character development, but they ultimately slow down the momentum of the mystery at the center of the story. I don't mean to complain too much, since, as I said, it was pretty entertaining-- but I also wonder if I'm willing to give it a little more respect since it's in a foreign language and played at the local art house theater. Just thinking of that possibility makes me realize it was hardly a masterpiece, but the summer offerings so far have been so lean in quality that this one definitely stands above the crowd.