A little over a year after releasing a staple in cinema history, “The Social Network” director David Fincher brought the book “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” to the big screen.  

While there are some faults in the film, there are still a plethora of elements that make this worth watching.  

While being shunned by the public for publishing libel, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is given the chance to redeem himself by solving the 40-year-old murder of wealthy Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger’s (Christopher Plummer) niece, Harriet. Blomkvist is assisted by troubled investigator Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). 

Being greeted with the dark and grim setting was a good introduction and prepared me for the environment I was about to be in for the next 158 minutes.  

It played well with the eeriness of the characters and how sketchy the setting was.  

When watching murder mystery and whodunit movies, I try not to assume who the killer is before it is revealed, unless it’s obvious. While not really having a clear understanding of who each character was, outside of Blomkvist and Salander, it was easy not having to worry. 

Not understanding a good amount of the characters is both a positive and a negative.  

The positive is that there were a lot of family members who were suspects in the murder. If we had to keep an eye on each one of them, there would have been too many story lines to keep up with and wouldn’t really allow for a real story.  

It also leaves room to wonder who the murderer is, for those who like to jump ahead.  

It would be more of an interrogative film and be more whodunit, and not the different angle that Fincher delivered.  

It’s a negative because we have no clue who anyone really is. Aside from the side story with Salander and her boss, the side characters’ presence isn’t very impactful and have no major effect on the main story.  

The main downfall of the film is that a lot of it was repetitive. Since we’re so out of the loop with everything, it all felt like b-roll.  

A lot of the film felt like Fincher was too scared to go into depth with one central story line. I understand what the main story is, but I felt so uninformed that it didn’t feel inviting.  

It’s like when something big is happening, and a large group of people are surrounding it and you’re just trying to make your way to the front and see.  

The technical aspects of the film were great, but it does not make up for the lack of knowledge. 

The first twist of Martin (Stellan Skarsgård) was not seen, but it wasn’t bad, just unfulfilling. I didn’t have enough interest in him to care. It was an interesting element to add while searching for the main killer of Harriet, though. 

The main twist at the end was, again, unfulfilling because we didn’t know who was who, but looking back, it makes sense that it was someone in the family because we had such an absence of who anyone was the entire film.  

I also felt like it was brushed over too quickly.  

While Mara and Craig played their characters very well, Mara’s character had more of a personality, despite being a recluse.  

Craig’s was given a simple role, and he played the part well with great line delivery and acting.  

I’m glad Fincher gave an insight into her life, and what she went through. We don’t know how she got into hacking, but the other parts of her life were sufficient to not have that small detail about her.  

Her relationship with Craig was a good addition to the film and ended the way I expected. For something to go right for her, for what I could only believe is the first time in a long time, and then not go in her eyes is telling about her character. It seems that she’s used to things not working out for her. 

She speeds off on her motorcycle onto her next slew of adventure. 

While the main story that has holes that needs to be filled, the film is worth watching for its character relationship and cinematography.  

Rate: 3.5/5 

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at cahardy@eiu.edu.