My worry for this movie was that nothing actually happens apart from the court scene - it's mostly 300 pages of putting pieces into positions around the board ready for everything to fall apart during the court scene.

Yes, that's a problem for the movie, especially because the trial itself didn't generate any feeling of uncertainty about the outcome for me. The best thing about the trial was Lisbeth's goth punk look. Very stylish.

Now that I've lowered your expectations, I imagine you'll find the movie better than you thought it would be!