Epic cinematic misery that will keep you grabbing the armchair

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2011)

Two years after seeing the original Swedish films, I couldn't wait for the Girl with the dragon tattoo to hit the theaters. Ever since that incredible first trailer burned into my retinas, I had a feeling this remake wouldn't fail. And not only it didn't fail, it delivered with style, grit and dark edginess I was hoping for. The cast is pretty much spot on. Daniel Craig, with a few extra pounds, gives an impressive and convincing role of a journalist Mikael Blomkvist. Compared to Michael Nyquist from the original trilogy, which performance I enjoyed very much, Craig is definitively up to the task.
Of course, all eyes are on Rooney Mara playing Lisbeth Salander - an incredibly complex, solitary and traumatized hacker, who is hired to help Blomkvist solve a 40 year old mystery. Mara is simply amazing in portraying Lisbeth, both visually and emotionally, it's such a believable performance that after a while you simply cannot imagine her not being Lisbeth in real life.
Cinematically, Fincher leads the movie with strings of superbly done shots, great dialogs and occasional shocker scenes that will get the hair on your neck stand up. While the run-time of 2 and a half hours may seem long, the time simply flies by and you end up wanting the movie to never end.
I only have two small complaints: first is casting Sarsgard as Martin Vanger. While I love Skarsgard and have seen many of his movies, for someone who's even slightly familiar with his work, there will be no doubt about what happens at the end. Second is about Lisbeth Salander character. While I can not praise Mara's performance enough, I have to say that Noomi Rapace in the original movie was more "manly". I know that it may not make much sense, but little details in walking, expressions and gestures made Rapace even more detached from any feminine characteristic. Rapace's performance made me feel that Lisbeth was so troubled and traumatized that she had lost almost any feeling of connection to humanity. For example, I loved the fact that Noomi in original movie had unshaven armpits. It was such a small detail, but it instantly made you realize just how messed up her life is. While Mara is astonishing as Lisbeth, there's no mistake that she's a woman - albeit damaged, but still feminine enough.
Many have mentioned violence and some other "tough to swallow" scenes. Honestly, they will make you feel really uncomfortable, but that's the point. They are not gore, they're not glorified and are certainly there for a good reason. Ommiting them would be a big mistake.
One more thing - the intro scene is pure audio-visual orgasm. I can hardly think of anything I enjoyed watching more on big screen then those first few minutes.
Overall - 10/10. And watch the originals as well.