Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, and Christopher Plummer
Directed by: David Fincher
Screenplay by: Steven Zaillian
Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
Is it just me or does it seem like everyone has read this book? I must be one of the few who haven't read it. However, this film is still quite entertaining.
Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just gotten into some major legal issues because of an article he wrote in which his facts were not backed up with evidence. His reputation has been ruined.
Fortunately for Blomkvist, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), an extraordinarily wealthy man, has a rather interesting mystery for Blomkvist to solve. Vanger's daughter has been missing for forty years and needs someone to find out what happened to her. Blomkvist must now be a detective for Vanger and the with the help of a young computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), get to know Vanger's entire family in order to find out what happened to her.
The film's story is not all that lengthy, but incredibly detailed. Vanger has a huge family and it is extremely difficult to keep track of who is who and how everyone is related until about three-quarters of the way through the film. Each of the characters is fully developed and somehow involved in the mystery, even if it doesn't seem like it when we first meet them. When watching the film, we can begin to notice certain aspects about each of Vanger's family members that just don't seem right. The suspects are developed rather quickly, except for our main suspect. I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but I can guarantee you that you will be wrong about who the suspect is if you are unfamiliar with the story.
The film is excellent cinematically. Some of the camera angles seem like they would be extremely difficult to perform, but are carried out excellently. There are some shots in which the camera is in motion and tracking one of the characters, moving through hallways and doors, either behind the character or in front. However, most of these shots occur during the rather disturbing scenes of the film.
In terms of the acting, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are excellent. Daniel Craig brings a whole new energy level to his role as Mikael Blomkvist that we don't see in his role from earlier this year in Cowboys & Aliens.
As I mentioned before, some of the scenes are rather disturbing and graphic. The film is violent, and not in the way of people shooting each other and things exploding. There is some sexual violence.
Overall, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a very well done film. I don't think it is David Fincher's best film however. I was a bigger fan of last year's The Social Network. I noticed one motif that goes unanswered in the film. With a run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it's a pretty long movie, but I promise it won't get boring. The story is told in a slow and coherent fashion, but if you space out for even thirty seconds, you'll miss something. I hope to see Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara nominated for Oscars for their performances in the film. I would recommend this movie to people who can handle long movies and complex stories, and to anyone who's read the novel.
I give The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo an A-.
Directed by: David Fincher
Screenplay by: Steven Zaillian
Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
Is it just me or does it seem like everyone has read this book? I must be one of the few who haven't read it. However, this film is still quite entertaining.
Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just gotten into some major legal issues because of an article he wrote in which his facts were not backed up with evidence. His reputation has been ruined.
Fortunately for Blomkvist, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), an extraordinarily wealthy man, has a rather interesting mystery for Blomkvist to solve. Vanger's daughter has been missing for forty years and needs someone to find out what happened to her. Blomkvist must now be a detective for Vanger and the with the help of a young computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), get to know Vanger's entire family in order to find out what happened to her.
The film's story is not all that lengthy, but incredibly detailed. Vanger has a huge family and it is extremely difficult to keep track of who is who and how everyone is related until about three-quarters of the way through the film. Each of the characters is fully developed and somehow involved in the mystery, even if it doesn't seem like it when we first meet them. When watching the film, we can begin to notice certain aspects about each of Vanger's family members that just don't seem right. The suspects are developed rather quickly, except for our main suspect. I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but I can guarantee you that you will be wrong about who the suspect is if you are unfamiliar with the story.
The film is excellent cinematically. Some of the camera angles seem like they would be extremely difficult to perform, but are carried out excellently. There are some shots in which the camera is in motion and tracking one of the characters, moving through hallways and doors, either behind the character or in front. However, most of these shots occur during the rather disturbing scenes of the film.
In terms of the acting, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are excellent. Daniel Craig brings a whole new energy level to his role as Mikael Blomkvist that we don't see in his role from earlier this year in Cowboys & Aliens.
As I mentioned before, some of the scenes are rather disturbing and graphic. The film is violent, and not in the way of people shooting each other and things exploding. There is some sexual violence.
Overall, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a very well done film. I don't think it is David Fincher's best film however. I was a bigger fan of last year's The Social Network. I noticed one motif that goes unanswered in the film. With a run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it's a pretty long movie, but I promise it won't get boring. The story is told in a slow and coherent fashion, but if you space out for even thirty seconds, you'll miss something. I hope to see Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara nominated for Oscars for their performances in the film. I would recommend this movie to people who can handle long movies and complex stories, and to anyone who's read the novel.
I give The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo an A-.
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