Of course you could argue about the sense behind a remake of a book adaption only three years after the last, especially if it was an excellent one. But in this case you can't accuse the film of getting watered down or Americanized. David Fincher's version feels just as Swedish as the original and does not shy away from rape, violence, sex and questionable morals. While some shots seem to be taken one to one from the Swedish original, the film still has plenty of Fincher's signature trademarks: there is an outstandingly cool opening sequence, unusual camera angles and a pretty gloomy atmosphere.

There was a lot of praise for the acting in the Swedish film but Rooney Mara pulls off the unexpected: she is en par with Noomi Rapace, playing an intense Lisbeth, this vulnerable, dangerous, disturbed, fascinating person. The rest of the cast is just as excellent here, especially Christopher Plummer seems to get better with each year of old age. Daniel Craig also turns out to be the more convincing Mikael. I now feel bad that I didn't get to see this before nominating actors in our awards.

The plot of the murder hunt is disturbing, exciting and engaging, especially if you know little about the novel or first film. People who know the original well may claim they have few reasons to check this out, but the fact remains that there are some minor yet significant chances and this version actually feels firmer, slimmer and overall more enthralling.
Only Hollywood's psychopath specialist David Fincher could pull that off. Kudos.

8 out of 10 tattoo needles.