To say there's been an intense amount of pressure on the English remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an understatement.

Speculation has been rife since Hollywood announced it was doing its own version of the 2009 Swedish film, based on the first book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy.

But naysayers underestimated the talent of Oscar-nominated director David Fincher (The Social Network, Se7en) and lead actress Rooney Mara.

Dragon Tattoo does have its faults, but as a whole, Fincher has created an engrossing, thrilling ride that holds its own against the Swedish version and actually plays closer to the book.

In it, James Bond’s Daniel Craig stars as disgraced Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who is tasked with finding out what happened to Harriet Vanger – a teenager who disappeared more than 40 years earlier.

Her wealthy uncle Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) believes Harriet was murdered by a member of his extensive family and Blomkvist sets about digging in the Vangers’ dark past, with an unlikely aid, Lisbeth Salander.

One particularly clever move by Fincher was casting American actor Rooney Mara as Salander – an abused hacker and the film’s heroine.
The success of this English Dragon Tattoo lay largely in the hands of Mara, who replaced the much-lauded Noomi Rapace in the part.

Mara is a revelation, complementing her incredible transformation into the pierced, antisocial Salander with an intense, impressive performance – switching between fragile and vulnerable one moment, then violent, intelligent or tough-as-nails the next.

It’s hard to imagine this is the same person who played the preppy Erica Albright in The Social Network.

There’s even humour, like when Blomkvist tells her the files on his computer are encrypted.

“Please,” she replies drolly, like a teenager when their parents tell them them about this new thing called an “iPad”.

Unlike some other English remakes, which basically repeat the movie shot for shot, Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo has also altered enough that there are a few surprises – one in particular at the end.

But those easily offended should be warned, this may be a Hollywood movie, but Fincher does not shy away from graphic scenes of violence and rape.

It’s not comfortable viewing, but fans should be suitably impressed that he had the guts to tackle the tough subject matter featured in Larsson’s books.

A downside is that the first half-hour is simplytoo rushed.

As it skims over details about Vanger family members, it feels like you’re being bombarded with information, with not enough time to process it.

But once Fincher kicks the story into gear, it becomes so absorbing that you won’t notice the minutes tick past.

Fincher creates this electric air of suspense that will have your nerves jangling even when Salander is doing something as mundane as getting a coffee and looking at maps.

It’s also thanks to the haunting score created by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and a particularly ripping take on Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, sung by Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O over the very James Bond-esque opening credits.

As for 007 himself, Craig is competent as Blomkvist, though not as engaging as Mara, but surprisingly Plummer is a disappointment for his detached performance as Henrik Vanger.

And in case, with all the snow and Swedish accents, you had forgotten you were in Hollywood, this Dragon Tattoo features shockingly blatant product placement that has Blomkvist buying a packet of Marlboro Reds within the first 10 minutes and Salander basically only eating McDonald’s.

These gripes aside, Fincher has created an excellent, edge-of-your-seat thriller and, with news he’s planning to make the sequels along with Craig and Mara, bring on movie number two and three.

>> Review by Caris Bizzaca

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