True to the Atmosphere, Characters and Steely Soul of the Book

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2012)

I had already read two of the books before I saw the movie, and I wasn't sure what to expect. There's a big online war about whether the Swedish version of the movie (Sweden being the setting of the story and home of its late author Steig Larsson) is better than the American version. I haven't seen the Swedish version yet (which leaves me perfectly without bias, honestly), but I quite enjoyed director David Fincher's version. The art direction was very well done, something I expected even from seeing the above poster for the movie- the poster itself made me excited for the movie, which was awesome. When I heard snippets of the cover of "Immigrant Song" done by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeah, I knew this movie was going to have at least some form of amazing quality.
This was all but confirmed when I saw the drop dead gorgeous opening of the movie, set to that cover of Immigrant Song that had me rocking in my theater seat. And while the movie doesn't often contain that same amount of excitement and can even veer into dullness on some occasions, it surprisingly uses its two and a half hour running time very well. The story feels, for the most part, complete from the book, but doesn't drag on much at all. There's a chilling, tense atmosphere highlighted by the winter Swedish setting, and in fact the whole movie seems to have a cold, steely feel to it, which in itself seems to be highlighted by the title character herself, Lisbeth Salander, played to absolute perfection by Rooney Mara, nominated righteously for an Academy Award for her work here. Even in the scenes she's not in, you can totally feel how she glues the movie together.
The story revolves around Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig, who ranges from pretty to very good), who is wrongfully convicted of libel after slandering a well respected businessman. His life savings drained and his independent magazine looking at the end of its budget, he takes a sabbatical by taking a seemingly easier job helping Henrik Vagner (played incredibly well by Christopher Plummer), who asks him to write a memoir on his life, mainly by solving the cold case murder of a niece of hers that was 16 at the time, who disappeared off the island forty years ago and was the only light in a family full of drunks, rapists, shady businessmen and, yes, even Nazis. Against his better judgment, Blomkvist accepts.
Meanwhile, his paths are about to intersect with a young, asocial hacker named Lisbeth Salander, an investigator who is hired by Vagner's assistant to do a background check on Blomkvist. She has some mental problems and a troubled past, so she is cared for by a guardian despite being 24, and when her current guardian has a stroke, she is given a new one in the form of Erik Bjurman, who sadistically begins to abuse his power over her.
Eventually Salander and Blomkvist cross paths, and that is when the movie begins to rev up and really get somewhere. The first half is a good setup, but not as gripping as you'd expect, save for the promising opening and... well, most every scene with Lisbeth in it. This is the same as in the book itself, which may bore you to tears until you get a good distance into it. This second half of the movie houses most of what is best about the movie- it has you on the edge of your seat, hopelessly lost in the snowy northern-hemisphere world it is set in until it reaches its not-very-surprising-but-incredibly-tense reveal. This is due to an excellent pacing and other work on the part of director David Fincher, who really shines in this faithful adaptation, as well as another rocking score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (who won last year for their Social Network score.) Their score is definitely the best of the year and was totally snubbed in the Academy Awards, which is ironic because there were easily two scores better than them last year (Inception and How To Train Your Dragon) and they beat both of them.
The actors, as mentioned, do a very good job as well- especially Mara for Salander. Lisbeth Salander is arguably the most praised, complex literary character in contemporary fiction of the 21st Century, and whoever was going to play her part would have to do it very well. Mara does not only look like how I pictured Lisbeth, she acts and talks and moves just like her, she embodies her, which is an incredibly hard feat to do right. Craig does a good job in the lead as well, capturing the passive-aggressive and overly-rational tendencies of Blomkvist, but in the end, it felt too Daniel Craig- you never can detach the actor from the role. In a supporting role, Plummer does an excellent job playing a broken, decent man in a family of wretches and thieves. I could say it's not that far of a stretch for Plummer, but hell if I care, he was good.
This movie is definitely not for everyone- a hard R if there ever was. The sex is very explicit, and there is, as has been oft repeated, (SPOILER) a horribly graphic rape scene in the first third of the movie that you will only look at in shock through the cracks between you fingers. (SPOILER)
But for those who can watch it, and are willing to be patient, this is a movie worth watching as it and its characters will resonate through your mind for a long time after. (and the awesome music, of course.)
Rating: A-, 9/10