While this review promises to be brief, let me assure you the movie was not. It was nearly 3 hours and trust me it felt like it. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that I thought the book was too long by about 200 pages, and although I finished the book, I did not think it was great. So why did I go to the movie, you might ask? I thought the movie would boil the book down into something palatable and time-appropriate for an audience of non-readers who would never waste hours of their lives reading the book. The story is about a journalist, Mikael Blomkvist , who is sued after writing an expose on a tycoon. The tycoon wins the lawsuit and it is a public embarrassment for Mikael. While he is deciding what to do with his life now that his reputation has been damaged, he is approached by Henrik Vanger, a wealthy industrialist. Vanger asks Mikael to help him solve a decades-old mystery in his family. Mikael agrees, but after working on the case for several days realizes he needs a research assistant. It is suggested that he contact Lisbeth Salander, the researcher who did the background check on Mikael for Vanger.
The audience already has met Lisbeth as her tale has been running concurrently with Mikael's during the film. Lisbeth is a tough, solitary soul who lives by her own rules until she encounters a predator. I thought the sexual violence would have to be tamed down a bit from the book for the film to qualify for that "R" rating, but alas no such luck. I found myself shielding my eyes from the disturbing images.
I believe Rooney Mara as Lisbeth and Daniel Craig do well in their respective roles. Mara goes above and beyond in a role that could either kill her burgeoning career or skyrocket it to the next level. But despite the acting prowess of Mara and Craig, two hours in, I really didn't care whether the Vanger mystery was solved or Blomqvist's reputation was restored. Of course, that might have been because, I knew the answers to both.
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