Worth Seeing, Albeit Overlong

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2010)

This movie is beautifully filmed and produced, with top notch performances (for the most part). The plot has enough twists to keep you interested and the characters are well defined and believable. It contains some gritty scenes that American movies lack for fear of offending, and these play well in context of the movie.
At 2.5 hours it is way too long, however, and many superfluous scenes could have been cut. It nearly turns into two or three movies by the end, though it's satisfying enough despite suffering from slow pacing throughout much of the second act. The climax of Act II feels like it should be the end of the movie, but alas, the main premise has not yet been answered, so we march into Act III, which is a bit choppy and unpolished, though it does deliver an emotionally satisfying climax, contrasting with the action-filled climax of Act II. The resolution, so long in coming, stretches into multiple plot lines to cover all the bases and tie up loose ends, with a somewhat glaring "hole" that I cannot reveal without including a spoiler; but by this point you just want the movie to end and so don't care so much, as it's been a good-enough ride.
Out of all the movies out there, this one is certainly better than overrated movies like Inception (no villain except Cobb's guilt, no danger because all action takes place in the dream state, and nothing at stake we care about!) and Avatar (dialog to rival the worst B movie ever made - Titanic deserved being #1, this movie doesn't deserve to be in the top 10!). While The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is by no means a perfect movie, it is worth seeing, which is more than I can say for some blockbusters.