Lisbeth Salander is the best character of the past 10 years

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2011)

The real intrigue in Millennium Trilogy starts and ends with Lisbeth Salander. As with the books and the original Swedish movies, I can nit-pick the plots and the films to death like everyone else, but ultimately, the fact that we get to see another depiction of Salander should force most people from the fans right on down to the uninformed to see this film.
To that end, I think Rooney Mara holds are own against Rapace's Salander. I initially found her style a bit too over-the-top as compared to the costume design in the Swedish film, but as the film churns and we see the Salander's army/goth exterior cast alongside her feminine sexuality Fincher does justice to the curious duality of the character. And bravo, Rooney Mara, I thought she was a bit too withdrawn in the first act of the movie, but much of that is plot driven and I really enjoyed the way this film draws more on her physical desires then the Swedish version, whether those desires are for Big Macs or orgasms.
The film itself is good, not great. Apart from the opening credit fiasco that made me think of the worst modern day James Bond films and felt completely disjointed from the tone of the film, I can't find too much to criticize Fincher for. His depiction of the cold Swedish countryside, the little things like the wind in Martin's home and the rough cabin feel were all pluses. The cat's role was a nice warm up and cut down the audience moment. Reznor's score is enthralling, its one of those scores where you acknowledge its power during the movie, it doesn't blend into the background, it comes at you in waves and you feel it hitting you in the face at the right times.
Criticisms include the editing back and forth between Salander and Blomquist's story lines throughout the first 40 minutes of the film. I liked the idea of trying to keep the viewer constantly linked to both characters, but we were literally jumping back and forth in 30 second intervals, it felt too cut up for my liking. Daniel Craig is a good actor, I like him and I don't know another big name actor that I'd have preferred in this role, but I agree with others who lean with the original Swedish actor (name escapes me) for the roll. Craig masters the suave and broken characters in his Bond films and Layer Cake very well, but there is a certain aesthetic missing from his portrayal of Blomquist.
Lastly, I had such high expectations for Fincher's portrayal of the dark, murderous, violent aspects to the film that I felt the final act and the run up to the whodunnit resolution to be somewhat sanitized.
All that said, I still give it high marks and recommend it for newbies as well as fans of the Millennium Series.