Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a dramatic thriller directed by David Fincher, best known for Fight Club.

The film is based on the first book of Stieg Larsson’s award winning Millennium series, Män som hatar kvinnor (Men who hate women) . It’s a story of an incestuous and deeply troubled family of wealth and notoriety. The plot revolves around a long unresolved murder, secrets, lies and graphic sexual violence against the films Heroin Lisbeth.

Best known to the American audience by its English title “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

The novel was previously adapted into a Swedish film directed by Niels Arden Oplev only a couple of years ago, soon becoming a worldwide hit. After the popularity of the Swedish version, I was personally skeptical about a Hollywood adaptation of this novel and how Fincher was going to be able to pull it off, staying truer to Novel than the Swedish version.

Fincher, as expected from a director of his caliber, thought out every single detail, starting with an astonishing opening, perfectly matched with the "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin. The film was beautifully shot. The cinematography in this film is spectacular. It was actually filmed in Sweden.

The cast couldn’t have been better selected. Daniel Craig was ideal for the role. Craig plays Mikael Blomkvist an investigative journalist hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to solve a cold case involving the murder of his nice, Harriet Vanger. At first, I wasn’t convinced that Rooney Mara was a perfect fit to play Lisbeth’s role (An edgy computer hacker), but she was actually great. Slightly soft in my opinion, but she was nearly as good as Noomi Rapace (Swedish actress that plays Lisbeth Salander’s Role).

Although, Fincher’s version has its own interpretation; it can’t be compared to the Swedish version, both are unique in their own way and both are good in their own way.

Overall, it is a very good film. It exceeded my skeptical expectations. I highly recommend it.

MPAA rating: R

Runtime: 158 min

Production Co: Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Scott Rudin Productions, Yellow Bird Films, Film Rites, Ground Control.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorik van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter, Ulf Friberg, Bengt Carlsson, Tony Way, Per Myrberg, Josefin Asplund, Eva Fritjofson, Moa Garpendal, Maia Bergqvist, Sarah Appelberg and Julian Sands