Great display of film mastery

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2012)

This was the first film I watched after seeing The Hunger Games, and it may sound weird, but in comparison this felt like a "real film". I haven't read the book or seen the Swedish version, but this film definitely made me interested in seeing it (and its sequels) which is all you can really ask for in an adaptation. In stark contrast Hunger games didn't give me any interest in reading the book, strengthening the quality of this film.
Fincher made some brilliant choices in this film that could have easily gone unnoticed, for example when Lisbeth is about to be raped the camera pulls away from the room and fades to black. In a lesser film this would be the end of the scene, but Fincher throws us right back into it by cutting back into the room and forcing us to witness the rape. It's a great way to manipulate the audience expectations, and it reminded me of something Akira Kurosawa said: "The role of the artist is to not look away". In this scene alone Fincher proves his artistry.
I'll admit that the story is a bit slow paced in the beginning but it does a nice job of luring you into the two story-lines. Hopefully they will make the other two films.