Netflix says: When a young computer hacker is tasked with investigating a prying journalist, their separate missions become entangled amid a decades-old conspiracy. David Fincher directs this English adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel.
Matt says: Now, I haven’t read the books or seen the original trilogy, so I am not sure how much this stands up to the source material. In fact, I had no fore-knowledge about this going into it except for seeing the covers of the books in someone’s hands on the subway daily for the past six years. As a film, I found it interesting and entertaining, but nothing spectacular. Mara does an excellent job in her role, making you believe that she is a fucked up psycho with a talent for investigation. Craig does a decent job as well, but is overshadowed by Mara’s screen presence. The plot felt almost too typical. I really was expecting a twist or some sort of feeling of a mystery, but it never came. Also, the scenes of “extreme sex and violence” all felt watered down. I don’t blame anybody but the fact that it’s a movie. It feels like it needed to be longer, that it needed more back story, and that many of the investigative discoveries are all just lumped together in montage sequences. I have a feeling this really suffered from being a film adaptation. Fans of the novels will probably enjoy this a little more, but will still have the same gripes. Those who go into it as I did might question what the big deal is. It’s worth a watch either way as Fincher’s direction is as mesmerizing as always. Bonus points are for the best opening sequence in a film I’ve seen in a while. Fincher’s relationship with Reznor goes way back and always makes for an excellent start to his films. I won’t be surprised if Reznor walks away with another Oscar for this one. 3 1/2 stars.
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