Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Year: 2011

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Fincher

Review

better than original overall. it told the story better and the music and direction were better. both are overly long, but the books are long and detailed from what i’ve heard so i understand why. i almost feel like the ending of both should be an epilogue instead of the final act. summarized over the credits using news reports would suffice. one aspect where the remake fell short was the ending wherein the girl feels let down by blomkvist who continues his romance with another woman. i just didn’t buy the sentimentality from her character. the way she first comes onto blomkvist, for example, isn’t the sign of a woman who is an emotional wreck going out on a limb. rather it’s a sign of a woman who takes what she wants and evidently wants blomkvist at that moment.

i can’t recall all the other differences between the two films, but the american version had a better feel in my estimation and i attribute that largely to fincher. it follows in the mold of se7en (and, to a lesser extent, zodiac) more than any of his other films. it’s not his best work (that’s behind him at this point), but it’s a nice enough film and i’ll be watching the others as they come out.

Watched in theater