Unnecessary Remake

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2012)

A journalist teams up with a computer hacker to find a woman missing for 40 years. As Larsson's popular novel was made into a decent Swedish film two years earlier, was a Hollywood remake really necessary? Everything is overdone, starting with the ridiculous opening credits. It is poorly paced and goes on much too long, yet the plot is a bit murky at times. Craig does better in the role of the journalist than Nyqvist in the original film. As for the Lisbeth, the edge goes to Rapace, who wasn't particularly good in the original, but Mara is too robotic here. However, Lisbeth is such a one-note character that it would be difficult for any actress to make her anything more than a caricature.