The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Please don't spend money on this.

Let's be realistic.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

My title summarizes the following sentence: It's a well-directed story that engages the viewer and forces him/her to pay attention to the smallest details, however it has practically no rewatchable traits to it as the main characters aren't particularly likable and it's a mystery/thriller.

This US remake is simply inferior in every way compared to its Swedish predecessor. I have viewed both the Swedish abridged movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and in its original form as Millennium the TV series numerous times. I wont say the original Swedish adaptations are perfect by any means, but many of the elements and small, seemingly insignificant moments from the original are either missing or have been diluted for Western audiences. First of all, Rooney Mara is no Noomi Rapace. Everything about her, from her weird hairstyle and shaved off eyebrows, to her distracting attempt at a Swedish accent, and her cold lifeless portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in general are a detriment to the film. She never garnered the empathy and interest in Lisbeth that Noomi did for me. And the chemistry that Nyquist and Rapace created together, both as colleagues and lovers, is entirely missing. Craig is OK as Blomqwist, he is not an emotional actor and can come off as cold and indifferent. Also why does he speak in his normal accent yet Mara puts on a Swedish accent? I found this very distracting. Fincher is a gifted visual director, but his usual flair is missing here, and really anyone could have directed this adaptation. Its not a bad movie, just an unnecessary and inferior remake that never reaches the heights of its Swedish predecessor. For the definitive and best version, view the original Millennium TV series.

I wonder why directors or producers choose to make such terrible films. Films that have such perverse and sick scenes. The first part of this film was twisted, sick and terrible to watch. Even if the second half of the film seemed interesting the first was simply dreadful. Who in their right mind would enjoy it? When I spoke to friends about this film they said the novel and previous adaptations were pretty good and enjoyable. Puzzled, I told them what I just saw and they gasped. The events were twisted and quite degrading. Making a film with such lewd content and terrible scenes acts to undermine the quality and story of a film.This film is a definite past and not recommended at all. If you want to torture prisoners of war maybe show them this film, it will get the job done.

Overall, I thought this movie did a good job of representing the major events of the book in a more concise way. I was glad that the director chose not make a 600+ page book that at times was hard to read into a multiple hour movie. Sitting through that would not have been pleasant. That said, given that I have read the book, I felt there were a few parts in the plot that could have been made more clear in this adaptation - namely the bulk of the investigation leading up to the climax of the story...it felt a little bit rushed to me the way they skipped out on what I felt was a more natural chain of events; instead they included a scene with a character that was not in the book to move things along.I did however appreciate the fact that the film toned down some of the more graphic scenes of the book...they were appalling to read, let alone be shown on screen and I appreciated that the point was made without showing too many of the gory details. I have to mention a few other things besides my commentary on the film-book differences: I really enjoyed the casting of this film. I thought it was superbly cast all the way around. Though admittedly some of my favorite characters from the book had smaller parts, I was still pleased with how everyone looked. And I can only chalk it up to the casting that surprisingly Daniel Craig's British accent surrounded by everyone else's Swedish accent still somehow worked. Also it is worth mentioning that the opening credits are absolutely amazing. I thought they captured the tone of the book so incredibly well and were mesmerizing to watch. I would recommend this movie to someone based on the credits alone, though with the caveat that this film, even certain aspects of the credits, is really not for those with a light stomach.