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Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff ... see more see more... , Robin Wright , Yorick van Wageningen , Joely Richardson , Geraldine James , Goran Visnjic , Donald Sumpter , Mats Andersson , Ulf Friberg , Josefin Asplund , Bengt Carlsson , Eva Fritjofson , Tony Way , Donald Sumter , Inga Landgr_ , Per Myrberg , Moa Garpendal , Maia Hansson Bergqvist , Sarah Appelberg , Julian Sands , Anna Bjork , Gustaf Hammarsten , Simon Reithner , David Dencik , Marcus Johansson , Mathilda Von Essen , Mathias Palmer , Martin Jarvis , Reza Debahn , Anders Berg , Anders Jansson , Jurgen Klein , Karl Josephson , Sandra Andreis , Arly Jover , Pierre Sjö Östergren , Tess Panzer , Alastair Duncan , Alan Dale , Julia Rose , Peter Carlberg , Jan Abramson , Lena Stromdahl , Matt Wolf , Leo Bill , Anne-Li Norberg , Marco Albrecht , Martina Lotun , Anna Carlson , Yvonne Ästrand , Fredrik Dolk , Christian Heller , Werner Biermeier , Christine Adams , Peter Hottinger , Joyce Giraud , Bengt Wallgren , Elodie Yung , Anna Charlotta Gunnarson , Andreas Björklund , Embeth Davidtz , Joel Kinnaman , Karen E. Wright , Leah Almada Harshaw , George Gerdes

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster The Millennium Trilogy. Directed by David Fincher and starring ... read more read more...Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the film is based on the first novel in the trilogy, which altogether have sold 50 million copies in 46 countries and become a worldwide phenomenon. -- (C) Sony

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R, 2 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: David Fincher

Release Date: December 20, 2011

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DVD Release Date: March 20, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (10,513)

  • fb1576983399
    May 29, 2012
    fb1576983399
    This movie had a nice, but slow developing story with an awkward conclusion. Rooney Mara turns in a good performance and has good chemistry with Craig. This movie didn't blow my mind, but it didn't totally disappoint either. I just expected more.
  • fb1463751009
    May 28, 2012
    fb1463751009
    Finally, after all the rave and talk about the series, I decided to step in and see what all the fuss has been about. My verdict? It's a glorious rendition of a wildly interesting thriller -- no doubt about that, but it fails to leave a mark of a trilogy that is memorable by any ... read moremeans, that is Fincher's rendition of the series and not the original narrative as a whole.

    It might've possibly been a mistake on my part to jump in without seeing the original Swedish version due to the possibility of mistranslation or different artistic views conveyed via Fincher. Nevertheless, Fincher's rendition is a damn good one if you ask me. He's done a great job portraying a brooding atmosphere and a riveting narrative through the incredible cast, dynamically rich camerawork, polished cinematography, and a witty script. There's a lot of disquieting scenes crammed into this piece, but I can't help but to get a vibe that Fincher didn't care to remain faithful to the original narrative by portraying the emotional or thematic undertones as for why these scenes were even placed within the story arc in the first place. The nudity, the disturbing scenes, and many other scenes seemingly stick out, as if it didn't belong. That's all to say that this "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is by no means a bad movie, but an unfocused motion picture... a really good unfocused motion picture.

    I'm sure there's plenty of differences between the international version and the Hollywood version, but I'm sufficed to say that Fincher's rendition of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a captivating, nerve-racking mysterious thriller that is sure to entertain, but doesn't earn the high talks of how great the trilogy is due to differing artistic views and a confusion towards portraying the original narrative's thematic and emotional undertones. I'm a guy that hasn't seen the international nor read any of the books, but it's apparently obvious that this is a carbon-copy of the exterior storyline, but not the soul of the original source material.
  • SirPant
    May 24, 2012
    SirPant
    I liked this version just as much as the original, not surprising as they're pretty much the same film. For all the things I preferred in David Fincher's version, there are just as many things I preferred in Niels Arden Oplev's. Still, I liked it, it is a visually strong piece wi... read moreth a great cast with strong performances. The big question, and the one I'm struggling with, is who's the better Lisbeth, Noomi Rapace or Rooney Mara? That's a tough one!
  • LWOODS04
    May 17, 2012
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter, Ulf Friberg

    Director: David Fincher

    Summary: When a young computer hacker is tasked w... read moreith investigating a prying journalist, their separate missions become entangled amid a decades-old conspiracy. David Fincher directs this English adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel.

    My Thoughts: "I enjoyed the movie. But it's so hard not to compare this film to it's original. Which I liked much more. I found this film to be lacking the intensity the other film oozed with. I did enjoy Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist more so then I did Michael Nyqvist. But as much as Rooney Mara did a great job in this film, there is no comparisson to the fantastic performance Noomi Rapace gave. I just loved her in the film. But it is the best performance I have seen given by Rooney Mara. I can't say much in this review that I haven't already said in the other one. So I'll stick with the performancs and directing. Great on both accounts. It's just the fact that I liked one more then I did the other. So I'll end it with that."
  • CloudStrife84
    May 9, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Who better to re-imagine Stieg Larsson's crime noir than the ingeniously gifted David Fincher? His own take on the story, involving the riveting murder investigations of journalist Mikael Blomqvist and goth-punk hacker Lisbeth Salander, is true to the source material, while simul... read moretaneously imprinted with his own personal touch. It doesn't just passively ride the success wave of the original, as most other re-makes would do, but presents the plot with a deep understanding for the material, as well as supplementing it with fantastic visual flair. For those reasons, I liked this even more than its predecessor. I also loved the fact that he shot it in my home country, even if Sweden is portrayed in a rather glum and depressing light (come here in the summer time and you'll know what I mean). On the other hand, our film industry is best known for its "Nordic noir", where the mood is often heavy and drenched in grey-ish color tones. So in that sense, he really nailed the visual look that you'll find in the typical Swedish crime thriller. Besides the brilliant directing, I was also tremendously impressed by the phenomenal editing. Despite being close to nearly 3 hours long, the outstanding camera work, and what I'm sure has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the cutting room, gives it a beautiful, almost poetic flow, that keeps the interest high throughout. Not to mention the magnificent performances by everyone in the cast. Newcomer Rooney Mara was a very wise choice for the role of Lisbeth, as she infuses it with exactly the right attitude that the character requires. Another stand-out is Christopher Plummer, with his incredibly arresting screen presence as the instigator of the murder investigation, Henrik Vanger. Daniel Craig is very convincing as well, and it was nice that they hired Stellan Skarsgård for the role of Martin, Henrik Vanger's nephew. A highly compelling watch, that not just re-tells the story respectfully, but improves upon it with sophistication and style. My hat off to Fincher, for taking something that was already good and molding it into an even greater cinematic delight. Or as we would say here in Sweden: Två tummar upp!
  • mmckellop
    April 22, 2012
    mmckellop
    The Girl with Dragon Tattoo is trash. That descriptor applies to all versions of the Swedish murder mystery/societal exposà (C); Stieg Larsonâ(TM)s bestselling novel, Neil Arden Oplevâ(TM)s blockbuster adaptation of the same name and finally David Fincherâ(TM)s wildly unnecessary... read more US remake. Fincherâ(TM)s is probably the most entertaining version of the story of punk super hacker and rape survivor Lisbeth Salander because of how skilled a craftsman he is but ultimately because of how thin and lurid the source material, heâ(TM)s only able to make a film that only succeeds as the best directed pair of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes ever.

    If you turn the sound off and are judicious with your media playerâ(TM)s skip button, Fincherâ(TM)s Dragon Tattoo is an aesthetic masterpiece. The film works best when Steve Zillianâ(TM)s work-a-day script recedes and Ficher is allowed to play with motion and color, sequences that standout as excellent pieces of modular visual art in the mediocre consumer product that is the film. Salander (an excellent and inscrutable Rooney Mara) pulling off a complex a country wide scam, an Instagram hued flashbacks that reveals a dark family history and even the filmâ(TM)s notorious and gruesome rape scene are all conceived and staged masterfully and act as welcome relief from the numbing blandness of the filmâ(TM)s central mystery and its increasingly tedious combination reveals and exposition.

    The plot of the film, the decades old disappearance of a rich manâ(TM)s niece investigated by a disgraced crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and brooding goth girl Friday, is at times a painful slog. Not because of the way Fincher films seemly endless sequences of people pouring over files and intently staring at computer screens, which looks about as interesting as methodical research can look but because it forces the film to focus on its least interesting character. Craig has a solid take on the Blomkvist character, an ethical but weak man who bumbles into easy sex and mortal danger with the same mild befuddlement. Heâ(TM)s a reactive protagonist and as such a weak protagonist but what can be done with a character whose main attributes are his helpless sexiness and an inexplicable knack for exposing massive corruption? It was a smart career move of Craigâ(TM)s to play such a character so different from the dashing James Bond but Blomkvist is ultimately just as much of a wish fulfillment fantasy.

    This lack of grounding spills over into the rest of the supposedly hard edged film. The filmâ(TM)s central mystery isnâ(TM)t solved through careful investigative work as much narrative contrivance. Craigâ(TM)s character willingly walks into the lair of a serial killer and has a number of crucial details explained to him. Evidence needed to topple a corrupt businessman is found from an off screen computer hack. Everything is incidental and actions donâ(TM)t have direct consequences so much as unrelated effects. Everything works out for the best but not because of anything the characters intended to do but because are five acts, the narrative just needed to end.

    In addition to the problems of Dragon Tattooâ(TM)s airplane read plot, its themes are also deep troubling. The original title of Stieg Larsonâ(TM)s book was Men Who Hate Women because much of the novel deals with the troublesome relationships gender dynamics of modern day Sweden. As an example this, Larson has his tough as nails heroine Salander fall victim to a protracted sexual assault at the hands of her legal guardian, a banal monster who uses his authority to exercise his misogyny. In turn, this motivates her to aid Blomkvist in hunting down âa killer of women.â? Using rape as a motivation for a female character is always a dubious choice and in this film itâ(TM)s extremely problematic. The rape serves no character purpose; Salander is established as an extremely capable but damaged woman and we understand that Salanderâ(TM)s rapist is a man who abuses his power to abuse women as do the men in the family of the missing girl that Salander is called to investigate. Salanderâ(TM)s brutalization is designed to be endemic of the sexual violence and institutional sexism of the society that she lives in, but itâ(TM)s also there to give the audience a dark thrill. This made obvious by the repeated pre and post rape sexualization of Salander and the fact the rape is essentially forgotten once Salander rapes her attacker. This isnâ(TM)t a movie about empowering revenge fantasies or the pervasiveness of sexual violence; itâ(TM)s about sexualizing violence for the sake of being edgy.

    Thereâ(TM)s a featurette on the Blu-ray for Fincherâ(TM)s Dragon Tattoo where he argues with his props and special effects team about the harness that the filmâ(TM)s antagonist puts Craig into. The harness needs to incapacitate Craig while also looking simple enough to assemble in a relatively short amount of time. Fincher argues over and over about the believability and functionality of the device, arguing that their efforts, while being functional simply donâ(TM)t feel right. In the same discussion, Fincher complains the no one would willingly get into such constricting device but as seen in the finished film, he ultimately settles for Craigâ(TM)s being gassed unconscious before being bound while never addressing the contrivance of man walking into the clutches of a man he believes to be a serial killer. Fincherâ(TM)s precise attention to detail has made him one of the most interesting filmmakers working and itâ(TM)s dismaying to see that he couldnâ(TM)t or wouldnâ(TM)t apply that same finely honed discrimination to the rambling structure and loathsome gender politics of his latest work.
  • jamers2011
    March 31, 2012
    jamers2011
    I loved it! I personally liked it a lot more than the Swedish version (both are brilliant films)...
  • flixsterman
    March 31, 2012
    flixsterman
    I lean slightly toward Niels Arden Oplev's version but this film has its own merits. Rooney Mara is simply fantastic.
  • fb619846742
    March 28, 2012
    fb619846742
    An impressive, stylish re-make of a visceral smash of an original film concerning a journalist (Daniel Craig) on the search to repair his reputation through partnering up with a punk hacker (Rooney Mara) to solve the disappearance and possible murder of a girl lost for over forty... read more years. While not as emotionally involving and detailed as the original Swedish film (a phenomenal movie starring Noomi Rapace in an unforgettable turn), director David Fincher is still able to make this film exciting and interesting. He plays a lot of the same cards the original film did, but the twists and changes he decides to make work out well overall. Once again, Fincher's soundtrack weaponry of Atticus Rose and Trevor Reznor bring the goods and keep the pace flying. Craig and Mara are both very good, but almost unfairly cast in the shadows of Michael Nyqvist and Rapace, respectively. Still, a fine re-make, if not a tad too soon, with the usual Fincher flair to spare and a plot that seems in control and well thought out despite a lot going on all the time.
  • lewiskendell
    March 26, 2012
    lewiskendell
    The American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is so similar to the Swedish adaptation that it's difficult to review it for anyone who's already seen the original version. This is undeniably a well-made movie with a flawless cast and no real issues to complain about, but... read more it inevitably makes a mystery story like this less compelling when you've already seen how it's going to play out. Fincher doesn't throw in any wrinkles or curves, which is hardly a flaw but did lessen the movie's impact on me.

    If you haven't seen the original version, though, see this immediately. It's excellent, dark, brutal, and as good of a mystery you're likely to see in a while.

View All The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
March 23, 2012
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Best picture? Best director? It's certainly better than some of the nominated films. But Fincher & Co. lose points every time this movie is nothing more than a slightly -- just ever so slightly -- inf... Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 8, 2012
Joe Baltake, Passionate Moviegoer

Fincher's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo': Retrofuturism Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
December 22, 2011
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

It's certainly worth seeing if you missed the original. If you saw it, however, there's no way of unseeing it, and nothing in the new one to top it. Full Review

Peter Travers
December 22, 2011
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Fincher's Dragon Tattoo is a faithful adaptation that brings the dazzle but shortchanges on the daring... It's gloriously rendered but too impersonal to leave a mark. Full Review

Eric D. Snider
December 21, 2011
Eric D. Snider, Film.com

What he has delivered is adequate, but it doesn't have any flavor - and of all the things Fincher is, "bland" is not usually one of them. Full Review

Ben Sachs
December 21, 2011
Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader

David Fincher's adaptation of the international best-seller is a triumph of craftsmanship over material. Full Review

J. Hoberman
December 20, 2011
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

An altogether leaner, meaner, more high-powered, stylish, and deftly directed affair, though similarly hampered by a too-long narrative fuse. Full Review

Dana Stevens
December 20, 2011
Dana Stevens, Slate

Even Fincher's elegantly gruesome style can't turn this Swedish noir into the meditation on evil and corruption that it fancies itself to be. Full Review

Mark Rabinowitz
December 20, 2011
Mark Rabinowitz, CNN.com

When it comes down to it, this is Rooney Mara's movie, and I don't care if the second and third stories are any good as long as they are full of Lisbeth Salander. Full Review

James Berardinelli
December 20, 2011
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

This is what a movie adaptation should be: a film whose base narrative has its roots in the source material but whose soul can be identified through the images that unfold on screen. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Lisbeth Salander: Everybody has secrets, the trick is just finding out what they are.
    • Henrik Vanger: The man who hires the detective should always be kept in the suspect list.
    • Mikael Blomkvist: The last time I reported on something without being absolutely sure, I lost my life savings.
    • Martin Vanger: The fear of offending is stronger than the fear of pain.
    • Dragan Armansky: I'm concerned you won't like her [Salander]. She's different.
    • Dirch Frode: In what way?
    • Dragan Armansky: In every way.
    • Henrik Vanger: You will be investigating thieves, bullies... the most detestable collection of people that you will ever meet. My family.
Submit a Fact | View All

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