Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) by Edgar C — 31 Jan 2014

If you are reading this, there is a 65% probability that all you want to know is these two details:

Niels Arden Oplev > David Fincher.

Noomi Rapace >>>>> Rooney Mara.

Done.

Now onto the small review.

Stieg Larsson's novel was potential adaptation material within Fincher's comfort zone since the very beginning. Personally, I do find slightly repulsive the fact that Fincher decided to opt for Matt Reeves' commercial-oriented decision of readapting a renowned Swedish film (mmhh..) originally based on a popular novel (double mmhh...) exactly two years later (triple mmhh!) for the Hollywood audience (MMHHH... HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!).

Were Let Me In (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tatto (2011) totally worthless creations? Of course not. But were they necessary? Absolutely not. Just because you are capable of readapting recently released material to the big screen challenging our conception of "remakes" does not justify the decision of actually doing it, even if the final quality was, at least, average. Sure, Fincher tries to apply some Zodiac trademarks to Larsson's gigantic thriller novela. Unfortunately, characters are soulless and harder to empathize with, and their actions feel more mechanical than carefully premeditated, as something dictated by script instead of reflecting true character development.

With Rooney Mara as the only highlight (her performance here was a positive sign of her potential versatility if you compare the role of Lisbeth against her past efforts), the only entertainment value that can be substracted from the movie is the plot itself, as well as Fincher's visual style to construct thrillers, which appeals to the eye, and sometimes the senses. Still, the director's style alone rarely justifies a whole movie, and that's not a novelty. That wasn't the case with Oplev's work, which had better characters and the assaultimg imagery had a more impactful remnant on the viewer.

And to conclude the senseless "this-is-not-a-remake-but-an-independent-adaptation" debate, I have serious doubts. If you read the book and compare it with the Swedish version of the story, Oplev ommitted a great number of scenes and characters that were also part of the story. So why does the version by Fincher resembles the 2009 movie much more than it does the novel?

Well, that just...might... and I emphasize the word "might".... that "might" mean that this is... actually... a rem...

Ah, who cares...

63/100.