this is an old review that i posted on facebook right after i saw the movie. i'm going to to go back and pull some of these and post them here with the hopes that people will actually read them and possibly help me out a little because i'm a novice and can use the help.
i will start to talk about the movie after i mention that i am a big fan of david fincher's work. i even liked his alien movie. he has a unique style that, even though he puts his own stamp on it, works for the story of each individual film. and he can get darker than dark when he needs to.
also, i have never read any of the books (and probably never will...i have a back-log of stephen king to work on) and i have never seen the original swedish films. although noomi rapace looks awesome as lisbeth. because of this, i can only discuss this particular film and not compare.
i have never seen rooney mara in anything else and as of now she is only lisbeth salander to me. she embedded herself into this part and actually TRANSFORMED into her. for me, there is no rooney only lisbeth. and the character is exciting, sexy, scary and disturbing.
unfortunately, i can't say the same for daniel craig. he doesn't BECOME anybody. he kinda plays himself. which, doesn't suck, he is a good actor...just not able to really transform himself into a character. alongside him there's also christopher plummer, stellan skargard and a surprising appearance (i didn't know she was in it) by robin wright (no longer penn). each one does a good job, but no one can touch lisbeth. she is the star of the piece for sure.
the filmakers also made the right decision to leave the film in sweden instead of transporting it. the bleakness of the landscape and the tone really added to the ambiance.
the story itself is dark and moody matching the main character exactly. this, of course, is an area where fincher does his best work. the plot is laid out exacting and concentrated. there is never too much info for the audience to absorb, nor, is there too little to leave you really scratching your head. and although the story concerns murder and family secrets the movie is really a character study. lisbeth takes center stage even when the story focuses on craig's character, mikal. she is always in the background waiting and watching.
many people have either read the books or have seen the original movies so i'm not gonna get bogged down in plot points and what-have-you. i am only gonna tell you that this movie closely ranks up there with my favourite fincher effort of all time, "se7en". and for a moment there i thought it would be awesome for sommerset and lisbeth to work together to solve another case of serial murders.
bottomline:
4.5 outta 5