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'''''The Millennium Trilogy''''' is a series of books by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. It won several awards but it was not meant to be a trilogy, as Larsson [[Author Existence Failure|died]] before the first one was even published <ref>Larsson's girlfriend found parts of two more books on his computer after his death, and it is rumored that he planned as many as ten books with these characters.</ref>. These books were a huge bestseller in their home country, especially because they got international attention. [[Genre Busting|They're crime fiction/psychological thrillers/dark conspiracy stories]].
The first book, ''[[The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo]]'' <ref>Swedish title- ''Men Who Hate Women''</ref> (2005) begins with middle-aged reporter Mikael Blomkvist being framed for libel and sentenced to prison. While waiting to serve his term, he is hired by famous industrialist Henrik Vanger to investigate a forty-year-old cold case: the disappearance and presumed murder of his then sixteen-year-old niece, Harriet. Blomkvist's investigation brings him into contact with [[Dark Action Girl|Lisbeth Salander]], an antisocial but brilliant researcher who was secretly hired to investigate Blomkvist. Salander is borderline-crazy, resistant to authority, and violently opposed to any form of abuse against women. She becomes an unlikely aide to Blomkvist as they zero in on the truth behind Harriet's disappearance.
The second book, ''[[The Girl Who Played With Fire]]'' (2006), begins with Blomkvist investigating an underground cabal of slave trading and prostitution linked to a mysterious criminal boogeyman known as "Zala". Evidence at a crime scene incriminates Lisbeth, which leads to Blomkvist attempting to track her down and discover the truth.
In the third book, ''[[The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest]]'' <ref> Swedish title: ''The Air Castle That Was Blown Up''; the Scandinavian idiom "air castle" is roughly akin to the English idiom "pipe dream".</ref> (2007), Blomkvist discovers that the traumatic events in Lisbeth's past have been manipulated by a shadowy faction within the Swedish Security Service who will stop at nothing to hide their deeds done decades earlier. With Lisbeth's latest actions, the conspiracy is threatening to burst wide open, and the faction moves to clean up all evidence of their misdeeds.
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[[The Film of the Book|The (Swedish) Films Of The Books]] were released starting in 2009 and were huge successes in several European countries; with an all-star cast and a Danish director, ''Men Who Hate Women'' became the most viewed Swedish film ''ever'' in several countries. (All three films were eventually imported into the United States via DVD and Blu-Ray releases.)
The American adaptation of ''Dragon Tattoo'' was released December 21, 2011, directed by [[David Fincher]], written by Steven Zallan, and scored by the team of [[Nine Inch Nails|Trent Reznor]] and Atticus Ross. The cast includes [[Rooney Mara]] as Lisbeth and [[Daniel Craig|James Bond]] as Mikael. Despite the film's somewhat modest box office performance, it has been confirmed that the second instalment will be filmed, with Mara and Craig returning to their roles, although it is not yet clear whether Fincher will return as director. It is also rumoured that the third instalment will be filmed simultaneously with the second, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
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{{franchisetropes}}
* [[All Men Are Perverts]]:
** The Swedish title wasn't lying--one could almost count the male characters who are not violent sexual deviants on one hand.
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* [[A Man Is Not a Virgin]]: Mikael.
* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: Lisbeth. Mikael, on the subject of her photographic memory, pattern recognition skills, general brilliance and absolute asociality, thinks to himself, "Asperger's syndrome, or something like that. " He then goes on to state that for every trait that Asperger's would explain about Lisbeth, there are symptoms that don't fit at all - while Asperger's has a high memory rate for obsessions, that only applies to obsessions, and high-functioning Aspies tend to tune out a lot of stimulus. And her propensity towards what her boxing partner calls "Terminator Mode"(seemingly total passivity right until an arbitrary point is breached, followed by focused and unrelenting violence), sounds a lot like PTSD - again except the "passive" stage. In a stable environment Lisbeth would have eventually grown up to be... {{spoiler|''[[In the Blood|a damned good spy.]]''}}
* [[Anti-Hero]]: 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.
* [[And That's Terrible]]: Every few pages, leading the reader to wonder how everyone in Sweden isn't jaded beyond the point of no return.
* [[Ass Shove]]: Lisbeth does this to her social worker when she rapes him, as payback for what he did to her. In the American film, she even kicks the toy up there.
* [[Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance]]: Casting [[Noomi Rapace]] 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, [[Pettanko|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.
* [[Author Avatar]]: Intrepid journalist and activist Mikael Blomkvist is a fairly obvious one for author Stieg Larsson, who was an intrepid journalist and activist. He's also a handsome playboy who women constantly fall for. Go figure.
* [[Author Existence Failure]]: Larsson died of a heart attack shortly after submitting the manuscripts for the three novels. Fortunately, the third book at least resolves most major active plot threads fairly well, so readers aren't left with a gigantic, unresolved cliffhanger as the ending. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100401061820/http://www.stieglarsson.com/the-4th-book A fourth book was partially written and some of ideas of a fifth and sixth book are recorded.] It has been rumored that Larsson planned to write 10 books with these characters. {{spoiler|Major plot points left unresolved include the fate of Lisbeth's sister, which was intended to be the subject of the fourth book.}}
* [[Ax Crazy]]: Lisbeth {{spoiler|tossed a Molotov cocktail on her father when she was 12}}, and her absolute refusal to cooperate with anyone in the mental health profession lead them to classify her as this. When she's also portrayed this way by the media during {{spoiler|the manhunt to find her in}} ''Played With Fire'', she decides to make the most of it and interrogates a john while wearing an [[Dark Is Evil|all-black outfit]] and seriously fucked-up face paint, just to mess with him.
* [[Berserk Button]]: Lisbeth only has a few people she really cares about, but attacking one of them presses this. Shooting yourself in the head will usually be less painful than what she'll do to you. And if you abuse a woman or child and Lisbeth finds out about it, she'll do everything in her power to ruin your life. And mentioning the name "Lisbeth Salander" to one particular guy {{spoiler|named Zalachenko}} guarantees a ''lot'' of fucked up shit will happen just so he can try and get revenge on her.
* [[Bi the Way]]: Lisbeth has two lovers she treats seriously, and one of them is a woman.
* [[Black and Grey Morality]]: Even the likeable characters come dangerously close to being [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]] at times, especially Lisbeth. However, the way the good guys are portrayed in the book makes it clear that Larsson sees them more of an example of
* [[Black and White Morality]]: good guys who've been mistreated (or are on the side of those who've been mistreated) taking revenge against their abusers.
* [[Blind Idiot Translation]]: The English translation takes huge liberties with the text, and only a few can be explained by [[Hanlon's Razor]].
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* [[Broken Bird]]: Bordering on [[Ax Crazy]] [[Sociopathic Hero]]; Lisbeth is fairly attractive, but to say that she has issues is putting it ''extremely'' mildly.
* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: If Lisbeth ever shows up to the office, it's in full "got dressed in the dark" mode. She ignores her coworkers, breaks into her boss's office, and borrows company equipment whenever she wants. She's an absurdly good PI, though, and the book says explicitly that's the only reason Armansky tolerates her behavior.
* [[Buried Alive]]: {{spoiler|Lisbeth just before the climax of the second book}}.
* [[Captain Obvious Aesop]]:
** Human trafficking is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Rapists are bad. So are Nazis. Nazi rapists are even worse. Also, bad guys are pedophiles.
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* [[Closed Circle]]: The mystery of Harriet Vanger's death in ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' involves one; the night of the Vanger family dinner, the bridge connecting Hedeby Island to the mainland was completely blocked by a spectacular auto accident.
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Lisbeth, not that she has much choice at 4'11" and 95 pounds.
* [[
* [[Crap Saccharine World]]: Sweden is portrayed as this in a subtle but chilling way. A seemingly sweet, nice and ultra-liberal society filled with lots of hidden abuse.
* [[Creepy Child]]: Lisbeth was teased and bullied in school for acting like one.
* [[The Danza]]: In the Swedish movie, Mikael Blomkvist is played by Mikael Nyqvist.
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* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: "Kalle Blomkvist", embarrassing to Mikael because it's really the name of the protagonist in a series of mystery novels for little kids (that by the way was written by the creator of Pippi Longstockings). Lisbeth calls him this whenever she wants to tease him or he's annoying her, and she's the only one he lets do it without getting upset.
* [[Ethical Slut]]: Lisbeth and Mikael both, in slightly different ways. Lisbeth views sex as a way to have fun (she's noted as having been with 50 different people by the beginning of the series), but she also has a strict personal code of morals that pushes her to try and protect innocents. Mikael has similar ethics, but his sexual liaisons tend more toward the serious side; he's just had plenty of them.
* [[
* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Lisbeth has red hair but dyes it black.
* [[Friends with Benefits]]: Lisbeth and Miriam Wu. This is also how Mikael and Erika treat their relationship.
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* [[Private Detective]]: Lisbeth, who's so good that Armansky gives her all the tough assignments and only keeps one other PI on staff to run ordinary background checks and the like. Mikael is forced into the duties of one when investigating Harriet's disappearance.
* [[The Rainman]]: Lisbeth is unapologetically asocial, and if other people think she acts weird, she views this as their problem. The government even classifies her as insane and schizophrenic because she steadfastly refuses to cooperate with any of the tests they give her. They're so wrong it isn't even funny, but she is still introverted to an reclusive level and emotionally detached.
* [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil]]: Pretty much ''all'' the good guys are of the opinion that rape is worse than murder. Given Larsson's history, this is probably a case of [[
* [[Reason You Suck Speech]]: Many characters are fond of this. Lisbeth uses on in the first film to defend herself when Mikael questions her about {{spoiler|Martin's death.}} and why he deserved to die. In the second film, Armansky gives one to Lisbeth when she says she didn't know why she never said good bye. "You don't care about anyone, you treat your friends like dirt. It's as simple as that." Which she is unable to disagree with.
* [[Rebellious Spirit]]: Lisbeth has pretty major issues with authority. It bites her in the ass a lot, most often at times when it's least convenient. Mikael even notes in ''Hornet's Nest'' that many of her problems are related to this.
* [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]]: Lisbeth has it to an extent. She hacks into people's computers and, if necessary, reports them to the authorities for their illegal actions (this is her justification). She hacks into ''everybody's'' computers and pretty much lives on her computer, so even if she isn't going after someone she'll still be hacking people. Mikael has this attitude.
* [[Self-Insert Fic]]: Compare Larsson and Blomkvist: both are middle-aged Swedish jornalists and both founded magazines devoted towards investigative reporting (albeit with different emphasis). Blomkvist, although a somewhat flawed character that goes through hell a few times, has a strong wish fulfillment element in him: he constantly gets good looking women with little to no effort and he's a respected journalist who's on top of his profession and has accomplished stuff akin to legends.
* [[Sex Is Evil]]: Could be assumed, considering the [[All Men Are Rapists|high amount of sex scenes that become rape.]]
* [[Shout-Out]]:
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* [[The Stoic]]: Unless it involves someone she cares about, Lisbeth tends to be very matter-of-fact about any given situation.
* [[Strange Girl]]: With the exception of the supernatural, this is Lisbeth through and through.
* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Do NOT read the back of ''The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest''.
* [[Tranquil Fury]]: Outside of a harsh glare, Lisbeth rarely gives any indication that she's mad, even when she's contemplating stabbing people.
* [[Unfortunate Name]]: The killer blonde giant is not given a name until late in the second book, at which point it's revealed to be the very unintimidating "Ronald Niedermann."
* [[Waif Fu]]: She's no ninja warrior; as a fighter, Lisbeth is best at ''avoiding'' getting hit. When forced to actually fight, she usually gets the upper hand on her attackers because of four things: 1, her size causes her opponents to underestimate her; 2, she's quick; 3, she fights dirty; and 4, she ''[[Groin Attack|really]]'' [[Improbable Weapon User|fights]] [[To the Pain|dirty.]]
* [[What Could Have Been]]: Larsson wrote in his spare time as a way to relax, and only decided to try and get the books published after finishing the final draft of ''Hornet's Nest''; he then promptly dropped dead of a heart attack. His girlfriend Eva Gabrielsson is in possession of Larsson's computer, which has at least three-fourths of a fourth novel and is rumored to have detailed synopses on the fifth and sixth books as well, though what may come of this is anyone's guess.
* [[Write What You Know]]: When he was 15, Larsson witnessed some other boys raping a girl. [[Truth in Television|In real life]], he was too scared to try and help her, and not only did she become the inspiration for Lisbeth (it was the girl's name), it's pretty easy to map a correlation between his unresolved guilt and the harsh treatment suffered by rapists in his novels.
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* [[A-Cup Angst]]: Lisbeth is a twenty-four year old woman with the bustline of an ten-year old girl. She's not too thrilled with that. In ''Played With Fire'', she solves this problem by getting a boob job.
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* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Happens to Lisbeth toward the end. At least until the [[Ship Sinking]] moment.
* [[Design Student's Orgasm]]: The U.S. film's opening credits. So, so much.
* [[Different As Night and Day]]: Mikael and Lisbeth are an odd couple. Also, Lisbeth's twin sister Camilla was a "normal" teenager, pretty much the antithesis of Lisbeth in every way (however, she seems to have taken the side of the father who badly abused her mother). She never actually appears onstage in the existing three books, and Lisbeth makes no effort to trace her. It seems likely that Larsson had in mind a role for her (possibly an unpleasant one) in one of the books he died before writing.
* [[
* [[Downer Ending]]: {{spoiler|Lisbeth realizes she's fallen in love with Mikael, and decides to tell him. She buys him a Christmas present, and on the way to give it to him, [[Ship Sinking|sees him on the way to his apartment with his part-time lover Erika]]. She then walks away and tosses the present in a dumpster, berating herself for being so foolish as to fall in love}}.
* [[Fake Nationality]]:
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* [[Hidden Villain]]: The serial killer {{spoiler|Martin Vanger}}.
* [[The Immodest Orgasm]]: Not a classic example in that there's no wailing or screaming, but in the film Lisbeth is very audibly enjoying herself the first time she and Mikael have sex.
* [[In
* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: Mikael and Lisbeth, who have an Intergenerational Friendship with benefits.
* [[Karmic Death]]: Gottfried Vanger, drowned by {{spoiler|Harriet,}} the girl he'd been raping for several years. {{spoiler|Martin}} gets this in the movie, when Lisbeth walks away and leaves him to burn. This ties into his comment about how all his victims thought he would spare them, only to have their hopes brutally crushed. In short, he's denied the same mercy he denied his victims
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* [[All Bikers Are Hells Angels]]: Justified in this case, as these bikers are trying to actually join the Hells Angels.
* [[An Axe to Grind]]: {{spoiler|Lisbeth buries an axe in her father's head.}}
* [[As Himself]]: Former WBC International Welterweight and Inter-Continental Welterweight champion Paolo Roberto, both in the novel and the film.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: Bjurman, {{spoiler|who sexually assaulted Lisbeth twice}},
* [[Badass]]: Paolo Roberto, who witnesses a kidnapping, tails the kidnappers, and then rescues the victim. And almost gets beaten to death for his trouble.
* [[Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop]]: Faste is a [[Lawful Stupid]] version.
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** {{spoiler|Niedermann's paranoid hallucinations.}}
** Also {{spoiler|the cigarette case.}}
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: A very mild version for Lisbeth at the beginning of the book, which must be taken in context to how she normally acts. She appears to mature and consider how her behaviour (such as abandoning Palmgren and not contacting Miriam) made her appear selfish. The old Salander swings back into play the moment she finds out about Zala. Some readers find this a bad thing, as they think it changes Lisbeth from being a strong female character to a male appeaser.
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: A mild case with Paolo Roberto. During his fight with Niedermann, in the novel Roberto treats the fight like a boxing match, and is taken off guard when Neidermann throws a kick. In real life Roberto was a kickboxer and Taekwondo practitioner before his boxing career. Playing himself in the film, Roberto throws a number of kicks.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: When Lisbeth goes shopping for an apartment (with enough money to afford anything), her appearance causes a real estate agent to condescendingly dismiss her out of hand and pretty much shove her out of his office. She retaliates by hacking into his computer, finding a bunch of undeclared income, and reporting him to the tax authorities.
* [[Disability Superpower]]: Niedermann has congenital analgesia, a genetic disorder that means he can't feel pain. In the book, Roberto only manages to momentarily stun him by hitting him in the back of the head with a two-by-four; after Miriam kicked him in the groin.
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* [[The Mafiya]]: Zalachenko is the boss of an Estonian crime ring who specialize in trafficking underage prostitutes.
* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: Zalachenko behind Niedermann.
* [[Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot]]: {{spoiler|Triple homicide -> International sex trafficking conspiracy, a high-ranking Soviet defector, decades long cover-up.}}
* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: Again, in [[The Film of the Book]] most of the important plot points are covered, while leaving out several minor subplots. There's no mention of Mikael and Harriet's relationship or Erika's job offer from SMP, Lisbeth's attempted kidnapping by Lundin and Niemenen is gone, most of the police's scut work in investigating Dag, Mia and Bjurman's murders isn't shown, a lot of foreshadowing about the depth of the Zalachenko conspiracy is left out and the ending is arbitrarily changed from a creepy nighttime sequence to happening in the full light of day.
* [[Pretty Little Headshots]]: Averted with the murders of {{spoiler|Bjurman, Dag and Mia}}, all of whom are shot in the head with a Colt 1911 .45 pistol. When he finds {{spoiler|Dag's}} body, Mikael realizes he's standing in brain. Played more or less straight at the end; {{spoiler|Lisbeth}} is shot in the head, but by a .22, with the bullet lodging in her brain.
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* [[Asshole Victim]]: {{spoiler|Zalachenko.}}
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]▼
[[Category:Mystery Literature]]▼
[[Category:The Millennium Trilogy]]▼
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Literature of the 2000s]]
▲[[Category:Mystery Literature]]
[[Category:Swedish Literature]]
[[Category:Film]]
▲[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]
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