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"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" had the unique challenge of trying to play to an adults-only audience over the holiday weekend. It also has the task of living up to another excellent movie.
A film version of Stieg Larsson's wildly popular international best seller was already executed quite well a few years ago in Sweden, but you can't blame Hollywood for taking a shot at an American version.
And there are many perfect choices here.
Start with choosing director David Fincher to helm it - a visionary not afraid to explore the brutality contained in Larsson's book. The story is bathed in darkness, violence particularly against women, and unspeakable acts. Fincher's been there with brilliant work in "Seven" and "Zodiac," and here again he manages to make the ugly somehow hauntingly beautiful.
The same can be said for actress Rooney Mara, expertly cast as Lisbeth Salander, the genius computer hacker with a dark past and present. Her brief screen time in Fincher's "The Social Network" made a huge impression - it's compounded in "Dragon Tattoo."
Salander teams with a disgraced reporter played aptly by Daniel Craig to investigate the disappearance of a woman, and a possible serial killer.
Like Larsson's novel, the film is often intense and engrossing, but it does plod a bit too often, slowing to a crawl. You'll definitely feel its more than two-and-a-half-hour run time and its dragged out ending. There's plenty to cut.
But there's also a lot to like. This is a brave and blistering ride. Thankfully Mara and Craig have signed on to complete the Larsson trilogy. But I can't help thinking Fincher's talents would be better utilized elsewhere.
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