DVD Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Director: David Fincher

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara,  Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright

MPAA: Rated R

               With so many films being remade these days, it came to no surprise that a remake for the swedish film "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" would be in line for a remake but what caught my eye was that it only took two years for Hollywood to remake the film. The problem for the remake is that they try changing up what made the original film so special and add their own spin to it which mostly fails. While this film was still plenty entertaining, I never got the same feeling that I had when watching the original Swedish version.

                                               The premise for the film follows the main character Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) who is a disgraced news journalist who is hired by a Swedish Magnate to pretend to write his memoirs while really trying to find out what happened to a girl who went missing forty years eariler. Once the Swedish Magnate becomes ill, his family learn of the investigation and one of his brothers force him to get a partner and he chooses the girl, Lisbeth Slander (Rooney Mara), who is the one responsible for the investigation at the beginning towards him. They both work together and begin digging deeper into these family secrets that come to a startling conclusion that with it being two years since the orignal were still able to catch me off guard.
                One of the things that I definitely enjoyed about this film was the acting by Rooney Mara who in her first performance might have just given the performance that will define her career. With having to live up to the first performance by Naoomi Rapace by giving a different type of vulnerability to an other wise brutal character. Daniel Craig I feel was a little miscast as Mikael because I believe Daniel Craig is only good when he does action films like the James Bond films and isn't as talented when working on serious drama films but he was still tolerable in the film. 
                  The film, just like the original, has some real brutal films that are not for the faint of heart. Especially one scene who people have seen the film will know what I am talking about. I would honestly say people under 16 should not see this film, but the scenes aren't just for shock factor like you see in films like Saw and Hostel but they are necessary to showcase the main characters state of mind.

                   The one negative of this film was the handling of the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth as it crosses over into a creepy situation and it's honestly not something that is really needed in the film as it feels like a backtrack in character development to me. The film also crosses over 2 and a half hours which I felt was a little too long for a film like this as at least twenty minutes of the film could have been cut out but if you enjoy the film then an extra 20 minutes will feel good to you while watching the film.

                    The final thing I would like the mention about this film is the score which is masterfully done by Trent Reznor. The background music portrays the fear and suspense that the entire film compensates and makes the film that so much better. My final recommendation is why not as good as the original, this film is definitely a must watch for people who love murder mysteries and thrillers. My only warning is that be prepared to see some brutal and shocking stuff and if that stuff isn't for you then I would stay away from the film.

Final Grade: B+