Comparing the Two- New vs. Original

Rating: 8/10 (30 April 2012)

I just watched this new version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Comparing to the original is difficult because both movies are so good in their own way. The Swedish version explains the main story better, and unravels it more like a mystery that you, the viewer, are figuring out with Lisbeth and Mikael, where I felt the new one went to quick over the main story. The Swedish version didn't have the ending which I liked in this new one, but the Swedish version implied a lot of that ending in the 2nd and 3rd films(Except it didn't imply the last 2 minutes of this new ones ending).
I thought Rooney Mara was excellent, she looked more like the novel(from what I've heard at least, as I haven't read it), but she still looked too feminine in my opinion, where Noomi Rapace looked more dykie and butch(more manly), but she didn't have as many piercings and she didn't have her eyebrows shaved either, stuff like that. I think both movies were great, but I think Noomi embodied the character of Lisbeth a little better, in my own opinion at least. Both really good movies though. Of course this new one had better sound, a better music score, and better film quality just because it's David Fincher and it's American made, which the Swedish film didn't have that kind of budget so they had to make due with what they had in making the Original.
Also in the Swedish one Lisbeth and Mikael do have sex, but she's more disconnected from him with her feelings as in this one, Lisbeth(Rooney Mara) clearly shows that she's falling in love with Mikael(Daniel Craig). Both portrayals of Lisbeth are great in their own unique way and I really did like the ending on this new one a lot, and the finale scene with Stellan Skarsgard as the bad guy was a lot better executed and better acted by Skarsgard as well, than the original.
I really love the Lisbeth character, there are not a lot of great female roles for women in Hollywood or Film in general, and I think the Lisbeth character is one of the best female roles of all time, and I think Noomi and Rooney both hit the character right on the mark with who Lisbeth is and also giving that feeling of wanting to be with Lisbeth, having that longing to be with Lisbeth and wanting to know who Lisbeth is, but again, I thought that 'longing for' aspect was better executed with Noomi's performance only because that's how those original movies were written, where this new one is written for Lisbeth(Rooney Mara) to show more of her feelings towards Mikael.
One could see the Swedish version for the sheer fact of Noomi's performance, because really it's all about Lisbeth anyway, how interesting and complex she is. Also, the actor who played Mikael in the original, Daniel Craig's part in the new one, I felt the actor playing Mikael in the original was better, he looked more plump, he just looked more like the part and he was more subtle in his performance. Daniel Craig was good, but I feel the other actor in the original was better. In the end, I like the Original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a little bit better.
Of course, If I would have seen the new The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first, I would be comparing the original to the new one, instead of comparing the new one to the original. So if I would have seen the new one first, I might have liked the new one better just because that's kind of how us human beings work, we always feel more of an attachment to the first one we see, whether it be the original or remake of that film.
Kind of like when we read a book and then see the movie. If we see the movie first and then read the book, sometimes we like the movie better because that's what we identified with first. The Psychology of the human being is interesting. Just like the Internal Psychology of Lisbeth is interesting, no, it's fascinating!!