Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Scott Rudin Productions,
Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter, Ulf Friberg
Mike Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a journalist who was convicted of libel and disgraced, but is offered a large sum to investigate a girl who has been missing and presumed dead for 40 years. Off he goes to a remote area to begin the investigation of the girl, a niece of a wealthy philanthropist and his very unusual family. Mike meets a young genius computer hacker with a photographic memory, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) who agrees to help him investigate the missing girl. Together they piece together a puzzle of rape, torture, and murder that spans generations, and the evil and corruption is greater than either of them could imagine.
This was one of those strange stories that intrigues people. I truly expected a lot different because prior to the movie coming out I didn’t know anything at all about the books (a trilogy by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson) and expected perhaps a Chinese martial arts film or something. It turns out it was a very intense story of rather disgusting rich families who think they are above the law. On one hand I found the story rather intense, and I have to admit I was unable to look away in the almost 3 hours that it ran. Half way through I knew I needed to pause and take care of some tasks and finish the film later in the evening, but I just couldn’t stop until I figured out the solution of the mystery. But at the same time, at the end I felt a lot of “Is that all there is”. Perhaps that’s because it’s just the first book of a trilogy, and maybe there is still more story to tell.
My daughter told me this is a sad story with a sad ending. She was certainly right, as the final scene before the credits certainly fits in the story, but certainly hits you with a sucker punch in the gut that you don’t see coming unless you really ponder on it. The acting wasn’t bad. Daniel Craig was pretty good and Rooney Mara as the punk hard ass chick Lisbeth was certainly good. Then with great actors like Christopher Plummer as the head of the Vanger family who hires Mike in the first place, and Joely Richardson, and even Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup from Princess Bride and Jenny from Forrest Gump) are all good in their roles. So I’m really torn on this film. In many ways it was pretty darn good, and in other ways I felt it lacked something, but I just can’t put my finger on it. So I have to rate it in the “fairly decent” category so that you can make your mind up. If you like raw, shocking thriller mystery and crime, you’ll probably like it. If you’re looking for classic cinema and pure entertainment, it’s probably not a good choice. Without being very graphic, it’s certainly dark and evil and disgusting in a lot of ways, kind of like the evening news lately. So I give it a guarded recommendation, as I know a lot of people won’t be crazy about it. But I know others will really love it. Choose wisely. 🙂
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