The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (American Version)

     Those who have read the iconic introduction to a thrilling trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, know that few stories are able to measure up to it in terms of suspense, thrill, and an incredibly tense presence drama. The story opens with acclaimed journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, played by Daniel Craig, exiting a courthouse, slowly losing the credibility he strove to retain for himself in his lengthy career. On hiatus, Blomkvist is beckoned to visit a remote island, in Sweden, where a terrible crime has haunted the owning family for generations. Many years before, Harriet Vanger disappeared and was presumed murdered. Intrigued by the nature of the case, and in need of a distraction, Blomkvist agrees to investigate the crimes and hopefully catch the killer that went unpunished. In need of encrypted information, Blomkvist hires renowned researcher, Lisbeth Salander, known for her ability to seek out information, no matter the barriers. Together, the unlikely team take steps to resolve this age old mystery and what they find is simply shocking.
     Dark thrillers have a soft spot in my heart, whether it be raunchy death scenes from Wanted or colossal destruction in the film 2012, the action and suspense weave an unbreakable bond and come at me with full force and is one of the best ways I distract myself from worldly dilemmas (the technical purpose of a movie in the first place). To say The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was able to do that is a profound understatement. There is not a moment in this movie where the viewer is not connecting clues, noticing patterns, or making fruitless attempts to guess which of the immense cast of characters is the grand villain. What is inherently different about this movie compared to many other films of this nature is that the author of the novel the movie is based on was able to thin the line between the good and bad guys to such a dull marking, the viewer slowly looses grasp of hero versus villain. It instead becomes a true spy film where the sheer awe of the situation is more prevalent than who will take the distressed damsel to her keep when the fallacious prince charming is sacked by the underdog and put away.
     The casting in this movie was well thought out, but at the same time, it left something to be desired. Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, plays her role beautifully. She is nothing short of the punky, tattoed prodigy moniker that was given to her by Stieg Larsson (author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). I have nothing wrong with watching her beat up men who are probably three times her size because the cast and crew transformed her from a mistreated, frail orphan to a thug who happens to be mistreated, frail orphan. That said, this was not a one man show, in fact, it was far from it. Looming over Lisbeth was Mikael Blomkvist, played by Daniel Craig. Daniel Craig is a phenomenal actor who far exceeds his peers in many roles, including this one, but who I found a misfit. In the story, and in the Swedish version of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist is a "nothing special" kind of man. Some would argue that this is the reason the team of Mikael and Lisbeth functions so well, but that's beside the point. The matter of fact is, James Bond Daniel Craig really had no place in this movie. Again, I don't find anything wrong with Craig's style and performance; however, an actor who is less well-known for shooting someone in the forehead from five-hundred yards away on a single bullet, may have suited the role better. Aside from that, the cast of fairly mild characters and great performances made this movie whole.
     In terms of raw cinematography, the movie was brilliantly done. David Fincher certainly knows his way around the camera and that is shown in beautifully shot scenes filled with suspense and a thrill factor that cannot be achieved by amateur abilities. It is estimated the movie had a $90 million budget and that was shown through the raw special effects and tremendous explosions that can only be rendered by advanced technology. Rest assured, in terms of graphics and design, this was no Avatar, and the good thing was, that was not it's goal. The goal of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo  is to portray incredible action scenes while keeping the viewer invested and not twiddling his or her thumbs until the movie is over when they could rant about how redundant the special effects were and how the producers over compensated for their general audience. And, of course, they reached their goal and superseded it with flying colors.
    One thing to remember is that this movie is definitely NOT for children. If you trust that your child/younger sibling/niece of nephew under the age of ten can handle seeing some of the sadomasochistic-derived moments (of which there are certainly many), go ahead by all means. I don't necessarily recommend it, but this is a free country. Without giving too much away, a majority of the movie is spent recovering from the intense disgust (but inexplicable satisfaction) you witnessed in the former scene. Rest assured, you won't be sued for taking your child, unless of course your child or younger relative goes on a murdering rampage inspired by this movie. Then you may have a problem. Until then, it's your decision to make. I myself am a teenager and have no problem telling people my age (of high school level) and up to spring for some tickets and grab a seat located fairly far away from the screen; but I put this as a disclaimer-- I WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY EMOTIONAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE THAT MAY BE CAUSED BY VIEWING THIS MOVIE. (I'm not even sure that's a legitimate disclaimer but better safe than sorry.)
     All in all, this movie is definitely something you should take a look at, age permitting. There may be an Oscar mention considering the direction and acting; however, I would hope no one quotes me on that. A suggestion to someone planning on seeing the movie: be prepared to be slightly uncomfortable; there are some scenes that will literally make you cringe. Another suggestion is to take a look at the novel before seeing the movie. I myself did not, but was informed by friends who did in fact read the book before seeing the movie that the novel sheds some insight into character decisions and may help with the overall comprehension of the story. It's all a matter of opinion, but these are just some considerations to glance at before buying the tickets.

Rating:
Direction: 4/4 - There was rarely a moment when I was left in the dark due to poor direction.
Acting: 3.5/4 - The acting was really well done, however some of the minor characters could have been more convincing.
Casting: 3/4 - While there was no problem with the cast as a whole, there were times when I was expecting the 007 theme song the start playing.
Effects/Art Direction: 2.5/4 - The effects were very cool... for what they were aiming at. This takes a mere poke at the prowess of Avatar's art direction but a well placed poke indeed.
Promotion: 3.5/4 - This may seem like a strange category, but without a functioning ad campaign, no one would have known this movie existed. I saw enough commercials for this movie to know it existed and even enough to get me excited about it.
Length: 3.5/4 - Rarely will a two hour adventure take you on what feels like a 10 minute joy ride. I swear I must have passed out in the middle because something about the movie made it feel short... too short.

Overall Average: 3.3 STARS/ 4 STARS (Excellent)