Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) by Duncan K — 19 Jun 2013

Adapting Stieg Larsson's first installment of his Millennium Trilogy will always be tricky and difficult, for any director, especially if you're attempting a faithful adaptation, but most especially if you're doing a remake.

However, David Fincher embraces the challenge with no fear or worry about what was or wasn't done in the original film. Instead, he focuses on making this remake as if we are experiencing this story on film for the first time.

It's a bold and smart move, but it also automatically hurts the films suspense and lessens the intensity of its twists, turns, and surprises. Still, this feel bad movie is excellent and one of David Fincher's best efforts.

The best thing about the film, of course, is the character of Lisbeth, who is perfectly portrayed by Rooney Mara, giving the best performance of her career and one of the best performances, ever, by any actress.

However, weirdly and sadly, my favorite part about this film is its title sequence, which is by far the best title sequence ever done, and part of that credit is due to Karen O and Trent Reznor's awesome cover of "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin.

Overall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo may not be as suspenseful as it could have and maybe should have been, but it is a great feel bad movie, and one that's definitely worth watching.