Cat!.............

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2012)

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago.
He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth.
As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined..
If you have seen the Swedish interpretation of the book, please do not disregard this.
Many are forgetting that this is a Fincher movie, and when he does dark, he does good.
Layer upon layer of beautiful narration and detail to the intricate plot are given a wonderful treatment over its duration, and Craig puts in his best performance since Enduring Love.
The film does take a while to get going, but once we are introduced to the family in question, it never lets up.
Mara as the titular character is truly something, and although she appears as a hollow being, there is much to Lisbeth and her toils.
The film is very dark in places and quite disturbing in one particular scene. Fincher has done some sort of Bi-polar Bond credit sequence which equals his Se7en credits.
The performances are flawless, and when we, with Craig, find the secret to the diary, it's something that makes magnificent cinema.
It does drag a little toward the end, but with performance and editing this good, it's really hard to care.
A great antidote to the festivities and I really hope it makes enough money to garner the next instalment.