A Better version, don't mention the 'DIFFERENT' ending

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2011)

Not long out of a screening and I am still thinking about this English language version of the mega popular Swedish Millennium films GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS NEST derived from the brilliant bestsellers. Purists may be up in arms, but think outside the box, what I witnessed was an almost perfect movie.It does, however, have an ending that will divide the audience, different from the foreign version but good enough for me to want to see the whole thing ALL OVER AGAIN. Anyhow all I will say is you will not be bored in the 2.5 hrs of grim proceedings. Daniel Craig is a perfect choice as the journalist Mikael Blomkvist disgraced for libel but takes on a memoir writing case to escape, only to be drawn into a web of secrets and family weirdness. His new partner is all the talk and so she should be. Rooney Mara I predicted big things from the second I saw her in Youth in Revolt and she carried the otherwise ordinary Elm Street remake long before her cameo in Social Network. She's also very good looking, holds her poise, strikes like a cobra and walks with complexities unknown to the common man. Christopher Plummer, Steven Berkoff and Robin Wright are unique fillers on screen but not as effective as the great Stellan Skarsgard who is despicable to the point of exhaustion. Mara is a standout as the tough motorcycle riding computer hacker with a actual heart, Lisbeth Salander. Magnificent shock tactics are not overblown as Lisbeth carries out proceedings on a dark missing persons case. Original scenes have been lifted from the source, but tweaked. The music is a standout, typical Direction magic from David Fincher seals the deal to make thus unmissable. GIVE ROONEY MARA an Oscar nomination please, she engulfs Salander as did Noomi Rapace.