A faithful, brutal and mesmerizing adaptation from David Fincher

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2012)

I am a fan of the Stieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy and the Swedish miniseries; finding the books to be emotional, suspenseful and engrossing, while finding the miniseries to be very entertaining and satisfying. However, unlike many people, I did not groan when it was announced that David Fincher would be re-adapting it the novel, but instead was intrigued to see where he would take the source material, considering his impressive background in the genre with Zodiac and the brilliant Seven. As the cast and crew came together, everyone seemed well-suited to the film; and while the film's production gathered pace, my anticipation was high. Fortunately my expectations were met.
One aspect which struck me upon first viewing was the script's faithfulness to the novel, something which I particularly liked; and while I don't mind an adaptation occasionally straying from the source material (like the Oplev one, which I thoroughly enjoyed), this Dragon Tattoo retained some of my favourite things from the novel that were absent from the Swedish adaptation - such as Holger Palmgren's importance to Lisbeth, Pernilla Blomkvist, the Hedestad cat and that brilliant ending (Fincher beautifully realized this on screen to powerful effect) – for me, these faithful, but important inclusions helped the film feel truer to the overall tone of the novel. "The adaptation Stieg Larsson would probably prefer", as one critic remarked.
Having only seen Rooney Mara in The Social Network, I was curious to see how she would portray Lisbeth and after reading some early interviews, I didn't doubt her commitment, which I found blatantly apparent with her on screen transformation. I loved Noomi Rapace in the titular role, but I'm not here to compare the two. Mara's Lisbeth is a joy to watch, capturing the character perfectly and just how I envisioned her whilst reading the books; she is defensive, introverted and vulnerable with an undying magnetic presence. When Daniel Craig was cast as Mikael Blomkvist, a number of people were concerned that he may bring his 'James Bond' to the role; however this was, fortunately not the case, as he proves very likable and convincing as the journalist, and like Mara very true to Larsson's creation. Their scenes together are blissful; their lines bounce off each other, while their chemistry crackles like a roaring fire.
I'd also like to favourably mention Steve Zallian's great screenplay, Jeff Cronenwerth's gorgeous cinematography (which depicts the frosty landscape wonderfully), the deservedly Oscar-winning editing from Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' brilliant score, which finds the duo composing a score even better than their Academy Award-winning work on Fincher's previous effort.
One thing I want to make clear is that this is not a remake, nor was it ever; it's a re-adaptation, as pretentious as it sounds, that's what it is. Don't believe me? Well then, read the novel and watch both; and even if you prefer Niel Arden Oplev's, this Dragon Tattoo is still not a remake. This is an excellent David Fincher adaptation of a fantastic novel. It's dark, emotionally resonant, grisly, captivating and mature.