The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Release Date: Dec 21, 2011 

Runtime: 2 hr. 38 min.

Director: David Fincher 

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright.

From the highly-acclaimed Millennium trilogy, and Stieg Larsson's international best-seller, comes the gruesome tale of murder, mystery and deceit. When disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomvkist, is recruited by wealthy patriarch, Henrik Vanger, to investigate the disappearance of his niece forty years prior, he uncovers a trail of murders that are as inexplicable as they are disturbing. Enter Lisbeth Salander: a skilled hacker with an aversion to human interaction. Together, they form an unlikely partnership to solve the mystery, while grappling with their inner conflicts and moral complexities. Riding the success of the recent Swedish adaptation, master storyteller David Fincher takes the helm of what has rapidly become a literary staple in recent culture. Dark in tone and heavy-handed in dialogue, Fincher stays true to the source without compromising his own vision. The opening sequence of amorphous imagery is both haunting and beautiful, as it sets the tonality of what's to come. As brilliant castings go, Daniel Craig is a natural as sharp-witted Blomvkist, while Rooney Mara is flawless as the titular "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Though previously encapsulated by the talented Noomi Rapace, Mara's drastic physicality and enigmatic presence are enough to extinguish any forms of comparison, as inevitable as that may be. The story, while far from forgotten, undertakes a parallel narrative for an extended period of time, which helps keep it suspenseful and riveting — like watching it for the first time. Similarly, the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is perfectly attuned to each scenic backdrop, despite being reminiscent of their last collaborative effort, "The Social Network." Granted, remakes rarely surpass the original, Fincher's interpretation deserves its praise and recognition. A strong story can be discernible in any form, but a strong lead is hard to come by. Without Mara, there can be no "Girl Who Played with Fire."

Rating: 4 stars