The Movie with a Split Personality Movie Review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Movie with a Split Personality

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just come out of a court case in disgrace and costing 'Millenium' magazine which he part owns a small fortune. Deciding to take some time off he is contacted by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) who wants him to investigate a 40 year old mystery involving a missing grand niece who is suppose to be dead yet each year Henrik receives a gift that only she could have sent. In need of the money Mikael starts his investigations which brings him in to contact with Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) a hacker who is under state guardianship due to psychological issues. Together they discover a connection to Martin (Stellan Skarsgård), Henrik's grand nephew and a series of murders but also a much darker secret involving the Vanger family.

Must see cinema, the question is why? It is what I ask myself when ever a movie gets praised from all quarters be it professional critics or everyday movie fans. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is exactly that sort of movie which leaves me asking questions as to why this David Fincher remake is so highly praised. Now don't get me wrong as it is nicely acted, well shot and frequently attention grabbing but not so much for being a thriller.

Daniel Craig in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Now for over an hour I wondered what I was watching as whilst we have Blomkvist trying to secretly look into the Vanger past to get information on the missing grand niece more of the movie is dedicated to Salander. We see how she goes about getting information, her state guardianship and an inordinate amount of time focussing on her new, corrupt guardian who forces her to perform sex acts on him and who rapes her. Trust me it doesn't hold back when it comes to being in your face but it feels like two separate movies and it makes me wonder why the need for so much detail on Salander when the movie to me seems to be about Blomkvist and solving the case of the missing girl.

Then there is that mystery and firstly it isn't the most gripping partly because for the first half it doesn't really go anywhere but also because certain characters are a lot more obvious than they should be through the casting and through the acting. Don't get me wrong as not all the acting is bad with Daniel Craig doing the sort of solid job you would expect whilst Rooney Mara certainly commits to the role with a performance which is perfectly mysterious. Basically when the truth starts to come out I was not on the least bit surprised and in truth a little disappointed.

What this all boils down to is that "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is certainly a good movie and one which is paced nicely and ultimately entertaining. But for me it doesn't push beyond the good level and is the sort of movie which even if it was shown on TV I wouldn't necessarily watch again even if I was channel hopping looking for something to watch.


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