Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) by Jaf48 — 25 Dec 2011

I was fully prepared to loathe this film. I was very affected by Larsson's written work. (I sent for English publishers editions rather than wait for the douche American conglomerates' one-year-between-volumes of the trilogy separation) I think that the Swedish versions are absolutely what the novels demanded and are sufficient on their merits to have been the only cinematic versions.

That said, I left the theater just pleased, and impressed. I hd fears of any overly glamorized, sanitized Hollywood version. Fincher has brought none of that to the screen. This is as stark as it should be.

Daniel Craig is very good as Kalle Blomkvist and Rooney Mara is a more damaged Lisbeth. My only serious quibble with this film is Fincher's decision to have Blomkvist be a father and in touch with his daughter and ex-wife.

I se nothing added to the character (in fact I think that Larsson intended that Mikael be a self-absorbed workaholic, as Larsson seems to have been). I sincerely hope that this Dragon Tattoo version earns enough to provide backing for an entire trilogy.

If that comes to pass, inclusion of the daughter and ex-wife characters promises the possibility of some cheesy plot devices that will ruin the remaining chapters if used.