Summary: Stieg Larsson's #1 bestselling mystery featuring Lisbeth Salander is now a major motion picture directed by David Fincher, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, from Columbia Pictures/Sony. In theaters December 2011. The first volume in the Millennium Trilogy, and an international publishing sensation, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel. ~amazon.com
Book to Movie Review: In one word; Superb. Granted I haven't seen the Swedish versions but I really loved this one. It was pretty much everything that I hoped for when I heard they were making it with David Fincher. I wanted to see the movie alone but my husband decided he wanted to see it. So, I decided that I wouldn't clue him in on the plot to see what he thought of it going in blind.
I love the fact that Rooney Mara, a relative unknown, was cast as Lisbeth Salander. In my opinion, she was simply fantastic. She embodied Lisbeth to her core. I loved watching her on the screen. I've said in my reviews that Lisbeth is one of the most interesting literary characters I've read and watching her on the screen was rewarding. Daniel Craig was perfect as Mikael Bloomkvist. I didn't even know that Robin Wright was playing Erika Berger, so while she wouldn't have been my first choice; she did an excellent job. If Lisbeth's creepy guardian bothered you in the book, then they cast it perfectly for the movie. While I don't feel that Fincher shied away from that, I thought that it was done as best it could without being completely hideous. Now, don't get me wrong it wasn't easy to watch but knowing what comes next for that scumbag made it a tad easier to observe.
Did they change some things from the book for the movie? Yes they did. Were they major changes? Not in my opinion.
I haven't heard if all the same players in line for movies of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets nest, but I'm praying that they will. You can't start something and not finish it. I would love to see Rooney Mara grow as Lisbeth grows in the trilogy.
If you loved the book or even if you haven't read the book, I think that you will enjoy the movie. My husband who isn't a movie guy said he thought it was excellent. His typical response to movies we see together "It was ok".
Final Take: 4.75/5
Can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't a fan of the book, so the movie left me feeling blah. I did love Lisbeth more in the movie than I did in the book though. I finally got the fascination with her. I did think that the actor who played the guardian played it wrong. He was too careful and seemed to genuinely care, whereas I thought in the books, he was a true sociopath. I wanted him to be more smarmy. Scratch that, I didn't want to see him at all. Those two scenes still give me nightmares.
ReplyDeleteIt’s certainly worth seeing if you missed the original. If you saw it, however, there’s no way of unseeing it, and nothing in the new one to top it. Craig and Mara are great here though and Fincher brings so much more to this film like I was expecting too. Good review.
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