Film review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (four out of five stars)

Director: David Fincher

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Chistopher Plummer

IF YOU haven’t seen the original Swedish version from 2009 and haven’t waded through the Stieg Larsson novel, then there’s a good chance you’ll thoroughly enjoy this remake.

It’s fast paced and thrilling with good acting and a solid script that throws in the occasional funny line.

As in the 2009 version, it’s also quite brutal in places (hence the 18 certificate) with scenes that are very disturbing.

Of course, if you have seen the Swedish version, like me, you will end up comparing the two.

There’s no problem with the new cast - Daniel Craig never fails to deliver the goods (though he appears to be the only person not speaking with a ‘Swedish’ accent) and Rooney Mara looks and acts the part, though her version of Lisbeth Salander is less gritty and more fragile.

Christopher Plummer is an actor whose prescence seems to lift any film and is a plus point.

There are some differences in the storyline, though neither film is able to stick exactly to the long involved plot of the book.

The new version did feel very long and the final 20 minutes almost seemed like another movie, but in fact it’s only six minutes longer than the Swedish film.

Production values are, as you would expect, higher with the remake and the amazing opening credits look like they cost more than the whole of the 2009 movie (in fact, the Swedish original has more of a feel of a TV series).

But as the story of a disgraced journalist trying to track down a murderer, helped by a computer hacker, evolves there’s not much between the two versions.

Steve Payne

Screening courtesy of Cineworld Crawley