Oh Fincher...why oh why???

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2012)

David Fincher is for me one of my favourite directors around. Gems like "Seven", "Zodiac" and established favourites like "Fight Club", "The Social Network" (probably one of the most relevant movies in the past couple of years), have confirmed his movie-making capabilities! So, I was surprised when it was announced that Stieg Larsen's "The Millennium Trilogy", comprising of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" was going to be re-made, barely two years after the Swedish adaptation of the movies had been filmed and released worldwide to great critical and financial success. I was even more surprised that Fincher had agreed to helm such "revival".
From the beginning this whole endeavour seemed more than fishy, it reeked of desperation, something which speaks to Hollywood's current predicament to find material fit for screen. The situation must be really bad if they can't even wait a few more years before cannibalizing a trilogy of movies that was literally just released.
Hollywood's risk aversion to new material, original ideas and concepts, is breathtaking in its stupidity and narrow-mindedness, and crippling to its creativity and longevity. If it wants to continue surviving, Hollywood needs to invest in a greater variety of movies, not only blockbusters with superheroes, natural disasters and alien invasions!
I went to see the movie, against my better judgement, only because I really like Fincher. Was I disappointed? No not at all! What I was...I was utterly indifferent to the movie! Fincher succeeds in all the technical aspects of the movie with his usual talent and vision. Besides Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer the rest of the cast is easily forgettable and even sub-par when compared to the actors in the Swedish movies. Now, though Rooney Mara did a good job, I do not wish to overstate her acting job. Noomy Rapace absolutely OWNS Lisbeth Salander, she IS that character...I'm sorry but Mara's portrayal couldn't hold a candle to Rapace's. Michael Nyqvist, the actor who plays the lead as Michael Bloomqvist, leaves Daniel Craig in the dust...
I know this probably won't be a very popular view of this adaptation, but I'm sorry, my biggest problem with this movie was the fact that the American version wasn't really needed. It does not add anything new to the story that has already been told, there are no new angles or revelations. Except a few tweaks here and there, and Rooney's more domesticated Salander, this movie is pretty much a high-class, and pretty expensive, study in irrelevance!