A Rare Example of A Hollywood Remake Done Right.

Rating: Null/10 (8 October 2013)

It's not very often that you come across a Hollywood remake that's almost as amazing as the original film & in that particular aspect, David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a winner. Dark, brutal, sinister yet intensely engaging & viciously entertaining, the film is crafted with sublime aggressiveness from start to finish & also marks Fincher's return to the genre he does better than anyone else.
Based on Stieg Larsson's novel of the same name, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo concerns Mikael Blomkvist; a disgraced journalist who's hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the disappearance & assumed murder of his grandniece, which happened 40 years ago. As he delves deeper into the family's history & tries to connect the dots, he recruits the help of Lisbeth Salander; a young computer hacker who has dark secrets of her own.
Ingeniously directed by David Fincher, the first impression is made in the opening moments only for the title sequence is a work of marvellous creativity, which puts the viewers in just the right mood for the dark journey that lies ahead. Screenplay is penned down by Steven Zaillian, who does a good job in providing a cohesive structure to the whole plot, keeps it faithful enough to its source material & also handles the characterization part pretty well.
Coming to the technical aspects, Fincher's version of the first chapter in the Millennium Trilogy is far superior to its Swedish counterpart in every manner. Set pieces are painstakingly detailed, Cinematography makes precise use of colour tones, camera-work, detailing & lighting, Editing is smoothly carried out, and the unsettling score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Rose perfectly captures the ominous ambiance of the story with its eerie tracks.
As far as performances go, the film features a reliable cast in Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer & others, with Craig & Mara impressing the most. Craig never lets his James Bond persona affect his performance here & is very convincing as Blomkvist while Mara is a revelation in the coveted role of Lisbeth Salander, is easily the strongest character in the film & her on-screen chemistry with Craig is instantly likable.
Compared to the Swedish film adaptation, I've to say that this one is slightly inferior in its overall impact. The violence in the original was far more emotionally affecting, and even Noomi Rapace was a better Lisbeth than Mara is, though by no means does it mean I didn't love the latter's performance. Where this remake triumphs is in providing a far better visual & sound design but it never really brings anything new in the storytelling department.
On an overall scale, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo plays remarkably well to David Fincher's strengths & by every means is an English-language remake done right, despite the few nitpicks. The character of Lisbeth alone is enough to keep you invested into its dark story & the unflinching portrayal of its disturbing themes also works out in its favour. Definitely worth a shot, this fascinating meditation on evil comes highly recommended.