Mesmerizing

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2011)

Mikael Blomkvist has been convicted of libel against Wennerström(whose pretty much only perceived as a villain in this, one of the few arguable failures of this) and the fee he has to pay costs him his life savings. So when he is offered a large pay, as well as the inside scoop on his nemesis, he agrees to, in return, try to solve the 40-year-old disappearance case of the daughter of Henrik Vanger, the retiring and dying leader of the concern named after him. The suspects? His entire family. The wealth and power is alluring, after all. He is aided by the Goth hacker, Lisbeth. I didn't think I was going to say this, especially because I loved Rapace's performance, but Rooney Mara *is* Salander. The mannerisms, the anti-social behaviour, the voice, everything, spot-on. This is the far more interesting(and emotionally involving, both her to us and her with others) take on her(like other things in this, it's deeper), such as the clear Asperger's Syndrome aspects to her(not present in the other one). These are not hammered home, they are there and if you know what they are, you'll see them. They come naturally to this, as many other things in this. This is not a remake or Americanization of the Swedish film, it is a fresh adaptation of the novel, and without having read it, even I knew things that that one missed, and they are in this, and this is all the better for it. This is far superior to that one; while not in every single respect, the things where they match or this is lesser are insignificant in amount and/or scope. One negative that is perhaps noteworthy is that not only was this shot where it's set, no, they went the extra mile with Swedish pronounciation and poorly attempted accents, and this is awkward and requires getting used to. This doesn't convey the isolation, however, in its place is the freezing cold. The theme of men of authority who hate women and make them suffer is explored well. This doesn't remove anything that was extreme in the original, rather, it makes them even stronger. It is a brutal, disturbing, sexually perverted tragedy with a moderate amount of swearing. The ending and opening(reminiscent of that of Fight Club) are infinitely greater, and leave an imprint on you. I don't know how, since this isn't much longer, though this definitely fits in a lot more, and has a richness of detail that the '09 one lacks(and while I know that those were meant to be a mini-series, I'd say this is the better approach, separating the installments and not making them all at once). This has a good mystery, if I'm unsure if the hints towards the solution are excessive or not. I recommend this to anyone who might like it(be sure to know what you're in for, this pulls no punches). 10/10