The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Reviews and Ratings


  • manu221
    May 29, 2012
    manu221
    This is the first time I've seen a movie after the book on which its based on. Usually its the otherway round. And thanks to this fact, there was no surprise in the movie for me. Thankfully the film was faithful to the book minus some details.

    Also this is the only Fincher movie... read more which IMO seemed too average for me. I think reading book first took the impact out of the movie. Just out of curiosity, I am going to watch swedish version as well.

    PS: Liked the role played by Rooney Mara and looking forward to the sequels.
  • 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.
  • herecomesthemoney69
    May 28, 2012
    herecomesthemoney69
    I dont if its cause Ive seen the original but this movie was pretty disapointing I didnt feel the same way as I did in most of the scenes as i did with the other the suspense wasnt there and the case seemed pretty boring and useless in this. Some of the scenes were shot very well... read more and I liked daniel craig and rooney mara but it dosent live up to the originial.
  • shyrsatr
    May 28, 2012
    shyrsatr
    I did not read the books and therefore I was totally confused throughout most of it. This film did not do a good job in establishing a connection with any of the characters with the audience. Therefore, I have no interest to watch any subsequent films that follow.
  • eXORKISTIS
    May 27, 2012
    eXORKISTIS
    Fincher was born to make this kind of films. Films like this, Se7en, and Zodiac, when he does something like Button and The Social Network, ehh... For starters I really liked the opening credits, one of the best openings in a film that I have seen in a long time! The film is an e... read morengaging mystery where, in which thankfully for once, the characters were as interesting as the story. For someone who recently saw the Swedish originals I was interested and it kept me engrossed the whole way through, even though the separate Lisbeth and Mikael storylines during the first half gave it a bit of an episodic feeling until the storylines intersected. Great performances all around and the film was extremely well shot. I also Liked Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score, more than their work on The Social Network. I haven't read the book (and I'm not really planning to), but I'm guessing some pacing problems come from the source material, since I had the same problems with the Swedish version too. Also why the terrible Swedish accents from half the cast? While Craig and Pulmer spoke plain British, and one of the few Swedish actors Stellan Skarsgaard sounded less Swedish that the ones trying to. Seriously if the Swedish Chef had popped up, it wouldn't have been a surprise! While I liked the first one, I have to say that there is lots to be desired in the next two. Those I'd like to see Finchers take on and I was kinda shocked this film is under performing, I really hope this won't change anything on Finchers plan to complete the trilogy.
  • Ivan6655321
    May 26, 2012
    Ivan6655321
    To be honest, my first reaction when I first heard about this Hollywood adaptation of the Stieg Larsson novel was that of utter irritation. Although I haven't read the novels, I just believe at the time that there's no absolute necessity in making a western adaptation of a book t... read morehat has already been masterfully made 3 years ago by a Swedish production.

    I remember that I even shook my head when I saw both the first pictures of Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander and the very run-of-the-mill (by thriller film standards) trailer itself. Though I more than agree about the casting of Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, all in all, I just don't really care that much about this project from its pre-production stage up to the initial releases of promotional materials.

    "The Swedish film is enough for me, let them have this Americanized Dragon Tattoo." This has been my subliminal mantra before the film's very release. Now reminiscing my ridiculous demeanor towards this Hollywood adaptation as I write this review, fresh from watching the very film of which I have been quite disdainful of, I can only think of one phrase to sum up this pre-judgmental flaw of mine: "Oh, how wrong I was".

    But with that, I'm not saying that this adaptation, as great a stand-alone film it is, is head over heels better than the 2009 film. For a lack of a better word, both films, as far as overall quality is concerned, are 'stalemate', which applies even to the performances themselves. Although I would say that, with a gun pointed at my head, Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander has the softer spot in my heart, I believe that Rooney Mara is as enigmatic in her interpretation, if not as charismatic.

    Daniel Craig, on the other hand, offers a more athletic-looking Mikael Blomkvist and is very into his character that his body language in the film is very effortless in scenes of unbearable suspense and surprising tenderness. Despite of his affiliation in that little movie franchise about an indestructible and highly sexual spy agent we call James Bond, Craig has been very, very believable in this film as a vulnerably mild-mannered journalist torn between the sheer passion of his investigative work and the preservation of his pristine name as a well-known one.

    Stellan Skarsgard and Christopher Plummer, on the other hand, offer great presences in vital roles, while Robin Wright makes up for her limited screen time as Blomkvist's editor and lover quite well.

    Though I must say that Michael Nyqvist (the Swedish Mikael Blomkvist) possesses the more world-weary physical demeanor that suits the character better, Daniel Craig is the more intense one compared to the former, which makes him more capable in shouldering the heavier scenes as the peril of the story piles up.

    Just like what I've mentioned in my review of the earlier Swedish adaptation, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", as intriguing as its little whodunit murder mystery is, is a thriller of characters, not of plot. David Fincher, the perfect man in Hollywood to handle this film (and the whole "Millennium" Trilogy) with great composure, balance and proper genre experience, did just what the expectations call for him to do.

    A man that I can rightfully regard as one of the contemporary greats of the thriller/suspense genre, with works like "Se7en", "Zodiac" and even "Fight Club", Fincher is a humane handler of characters even within the most unbearably disturbing (e.g. Cops tracking down gruesome killers, a founder of a gazillion dollars worth of social networking empire (just kidding)), or the most unusual (e.g. a man physically growing old backwards, an insomniac with a split personality), of situations. And in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", it really shows.

    In a worst case scenario, both Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Bomkvist can be turned into characters that may closely mirror members of Scooby-Doo's mystery machine, with the Vanger murder mystery serving as the shadowy plot to unmask and the 'it's him all along' twist serving as its burdening cliche.

    David Fincher, armed with a strong source material and a screenplay of considerable strength by Steven Zaillian, was able to give great priority to the characters without sacrificing any chances of turning the very story into a muddled maze merely solved by taking the wrong path just so a sort of closure, however half-baked, can be attained.

    Our protagonists, aside from being a two-team investigative force, are also two people wrapped in romantic ambiguity. Tackled by the Swedish adaptation with recurring hints of mutual affection, this film has even rendered their relationship close to perfection. It's not much their sexual scenes that have enforced this idea but the subtlest of moments.

    One poignant scene near the end of the film is when Blomkvist and Salander are lying considerably apart in bed as if two reflective lovers. In the scene, there has been no direct gestures of affection directed to each other save for Lisbeth's retelling of her scarred past and their lingering eye contact.

    The camera position perfect, that little space in the middle a spot-on balance-giver to the whole moment and the lighting totally exact. As they lie there subliminally contemplating what their relationship really means and as we absorb this key scene, the more that we already know what the answer is. And surely so that in another scene, as a sales clerk asks Lisbeth to whom will she give the jacket she had just bought, a gift obviously intended for Mikael, she answered that it's only for a 'friend'.

    Well, after all that she has gone through in the film, that which involves digging up absolute truths hidden layers deep within the snow-covered wilderness of the fictional town of Hedestad, we're quite aware that what she said to the sales clerk was a lie.

    "What is hidden in snow, comes forth in the thaw" is the film's tagline that's also a Swedish proverb. It was indeed a half-century old tale of hate, murder, and misogyny that was unearthed, but so are shades of something that resembles love. One of the absolute sleeper hits of 2011.
  • oliverenglish
    May 26, 2012
    oliverenglish
    I wish they wouldn't keep re-making films so quickly, but it's a good film & the cast are all good too.
  • alfredoponce
    May 25, 2012
    alfredoponce
    A pesar de no haber leído los libros, la trama y las actuaciones están muy bien llevadas; especialmente la de Rooney Mara.
    No puedo comparar con las originales suecas, ya que no las he visto.
  • johnnytanktang
    May 25, 2012
    johnnytanktang
    If there's a complaint, it's that it flirts with rambling once the main case is solved -- nearly 20 minutes before the movie ends. But Fincher uses that remaining time to expand on Lisbeth's character, which is hard to hold against him. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can ... read morestand on its own as Fincher's valentine to goth girl power, detective stories, and the grotesqueness of the human heart. Fincher has made The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo into an electrifying movie by turning the audience into addicts of the forbidden, looking for the sick and twisted things we can't see. Under the direction of David Fincher and with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian. I don't know if it's better or worse. It has a different air. An altogether leaner, meaner, more high-powered, stylish, and deftly directed affair, though similarly hampered by a too-long narrative fuse. Fincher's electrifying storytelling makes the most of unsettling visuals, large casts, complex plots and sharp dialogue. This beautifully taut and terrifying thriller is faithful to its source in just about every way that matters. This is an immersive and powerful thriller, driven by terrific leading performances. It's mostly really good and then it wears out its welcome.

    VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent. (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars)
  • angelbabypie
    May 25, 2012
    angelbabypie
    its dark but such a good story
  • TheMasterDirector
    May 24, 2012
    TheMasterDirector
    Mikael Blomkvist: I guess I must have alarmed you, turning up like that--
    Lisbeth Salander: If you touch me I'll more than alarm you.

    A
  • 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!
  • fb100000227119208
    May 23, 2012
    fb100000227119208
    otimo filme, a historia se desenvolveu bem.. adaptação perfeita...
    e a caracterização da Rooney Mara como Lisbeth foi mtu boa.
    adorei
  • Lemure
    May 23, 2012
    Lemure
    Ever been involved in one of those "name a remake that's better than the original" debate, only to find yourself stuck? No more. Fincher was the perfect choice.

Summary

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Summary