Yes, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo only came to American shores five months ago (it’s still playing in some Portland theaters!) and the sequel is already here. Naturally, I had to go see it out of curiosity’s sake. What I got was basically more of the same, but presented in a much leaner and better-paced film.

First of all, you may remember when I suggested that the rape scenes in the first half of Dragon Tattoo should’ve been cut. If I could, I’d like to please retract that statement. Part of what makes this movie so effective as a sequel is that it uses its predecessor (in this case, that particular subplot) as a springboard into a completely new story. The subplot is continued and concluded here in a way that moved the overall story forward and nicely developed our two main characters.

On another note, my Callipygous colleague (happy birthday, dude!) posited that the original movie used rape as a symbol for abuse of power and suppression of women. I missed it in the original movie, but it came through in the sequel loud and clear. The sequel’s catalyst, after all, is an investigation into underage sex trafficking which implicates several wealthy and powerful men as clientele. This makes the theme prominent enough to be noticed, but subtle enough that it doesn’t feel forced. Brilliant. Unfortunately, this theme brings the side effect of carrying over the previous movie’s penchant for one-dimensional villains who are total sexist and rapist fuckheads for no other purpose than to be evil.

Still, I’m glad to say that my primary gripe about the first movie is pretty much entirely fixed in the sequel. Whereas the first movie felt like it spent the first half in a low gear before suddenly switching to high, the second movie starts out slow, but builds in energy much more gradually. I could actually see the dominoes being set into place with this one, which made for a much more effective thriller. Of course, it helps that the movie’s wheels are greased with a few murders, Lisbeth getting framed for them, consensual lesbian sex, a car chase and a neat little fistfight that was nicely augmented by the series’ trademark brutality.

Of course, part of what made the first movie drag is that it was all about getting Mikael and Lisbeth to that first meeting. This movie has a similar goal, but goes about it in an entirely different way. See, instead of teaming up to solve the case, they both work on the same case independently (more or less) as two separate investigations going simultaneously. This establishes the eventual meet-up as an end in itself, rather than as a means to an end, which gives the sequel a nicely different flavor from its predecessor.

Pretty much everything that made the first movie solid is back here. Noomi Rapace is still electrifying in the title role, Michael Nyqvist is still a touch wooden, but certainly less so and still bringing the intelligence to Mikael. The visuals are still solid and the tension and intrigue are still palpable, though I’m sorry to say that there were a few twists and plot points in the sequel that didn’t work.

For example, there’s a character in the sequel (aptly described as “a blonde tank”) who might have been a decent villain if he didn’t have a condition that could only exist in a Bond movie. He’s also the subject of a reveal late in the movie that nearly made my eyes roll out of their sockets. Speaking of which, there’s a scene late in the movie that gets Lisbeth into a pretty deep hole. The scene has absolutely zero suspense and the crisis’ resolution is absurd.

Finally, the sequel is sorely lacking for a satisfactory denouement. The previous film ended with Mikael getting his due and Lisbeth going off into the sunset, but this one just… ends. I mean, I’m grateful that the cliffhanger wasn’t pounded in too hard and I suppose that the movie didn’t have a lot left to say, but was it too much to ask for two minutes to see Lisbeth’s name getting cleared and to see what she and Mikael do afterwards?

The Girl Who Played with Fire has some pretty damning faults in its last few minutes, which is a shame, because everything up until that point was very good. On its own merit, the movie is an effectively paced thriller with an evolving plot that was made easy to follow without dumbing itself down. As a sequel, the movie excels, building on its predecessor in a way that enriches both films. Nevertheless, just as with the previous movie, there’s still a fair bit of room for improvement in the inevitable remake.

Speaking of which, David Fincher’s remake is moving right along. Daniel Craig has been locked into the Mikael role and cameras are due to start rolling in the next few months for a December 2011 release date. As much as I’d have loved to see Emily Browning take the role of Lisbeth, Entertainment Weekly reports that the role’s candidates are down to Rooney Mara (American), Lea Seydoux (French), Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe (Australians). The only name I recognize is Mara, who I certainly hope has been taking acting lessons since the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Seydoux was apparently somewhere in the bar scene of Inglourious Basterds, as well.

If this rumor is true, then I’m certainly glad that Fincher is going with an unknown actress for the role. Additionally, I hope that whoever gets the role doesn’t have a problem with chain smoking as Rapace does in the role. I’m not normally a fan of smoking in any way, so I won’t be heartbroken if the tobacco use is scaled back, but come on: This is the girl with the dragon tattoo. The girl who plays with fire. It’s only fitting that she should breathe smoke.

Lisbeth’s casting announcement is due in a couple of weeks. Watch this space.