Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 2011, David Fincher
Dark and grisly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a hypnotic tale of sordid secrets.
Daniel Craig plays a disgraced journalist given a chance at redemption if he can solve a 40-year old suspected murder case. To accomplish this, he recruits Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara), a troubled young woman with a great knack for investigation (i.e., “the girl with the dragon tattoo”).
This is not a film for the faint of heart. The CGI used in the opening credits is, right off, some of the craziest imagery I’ve ever seen in a movie and not unlikely to trigger a panic attack. It effectively sets the tone for the film, however.
Craig and Mara are both superb in their roles, along with strong supporting roles by Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgård. As he did in his gloomy juggernaut Se7en, Director David Fincher does an excellent job of pacing the film and ratcheting tension to a gripping climax.
I haven’t read the book, but the film’s flaw lies in its length. At over 2 1/2 hours, it could easily lose a half hour. A couple gratuitous sex scenes between the lead characters fail to add anything to the story, and the film also drags inexplicably long after its climax.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo score: 3.5 Falcone Rings
Falcone's Crossroads 
Have you seen the Swedish version of the film? You should try reading the book, at least. The movie adaptation was pretty intense, I agree, but in some ways I feel like it’s watered down a bit from the book. There’s a review of it on my blog if you’re interested in reading!
Hey, thanks for the comments! Yes, actually, we watched the Swedish version after I wrote this review, and I thought the differences were subtle and both films good. If anything, I though the Swedish version was a bit more brutal in some scenes. You’re not the only one I’ve heard from who said the book was even moreso.
Very interesting movie!!!