The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

[Commando]

I just finished the book, and it sounds like it's dead-on faithful to the source material. I'm glad to hear they didn't cut stuff out; it may be vital to future storylines in the other 2 installments.

[woot]

I agree that the ending felt a little abrupt to me in how they dealt with the badguy; in the book and first movie Blomqvist ends up flying to Australia and it's a little drawn out, so this screenwriter wanted to get rid of that and might have erred too much on the side of tidy.

If you think backstory on Lisbeth would ruin her character, you might not want to watch the other ones (assuming there are other ones; it seems this one kind of flopped). I really liked how much I understood her aloofness, cynicism, emotional distance, and whatnot in this one, even though they barely mentioned the backstory. The 3rd chapter in particular focuses on that.

I said in the other thread that this is one of the best movies of the year. Granted, I haven't kept up this year with all the oscar contenders so my frame of reference isn't great, but this one will at least be up there for me.

[jay santos]

I saw the European version. Liked it. Wouldn't say I loved it, though. Saw the second one, and it was OK, but didn't like it as much. Would seeing the American version be a waste of time?

[MarkGrace]

If you think backstory on Lisbeth would ruin her character, you might not want to watch the other ones (assuming there are other ones; it seems this one kind of flopped). I really liked how much I understood her aloofness, cynicism, emotional distance, and whatnot in this one, even though they barely mentioned the backstory. The 3rd chapter in particular focuses on that.

Maybe I overstated a bit. Some backstory was given during the movie, at least enough to establish who she was and her interest in wanting to help all these girls that were taken advantage of and murdered, and all of that was kind of key to understanding her. Over the course of three stories based principally on her character, I expect that there's going to be more of that type of character development. What I liked is that they didn't attempt to explain her "skills." And maybe they'll explain that over the next two installments in a way that makes sense, but for now I like that they didn't go down that path.

[PaloAltoCougar]

...
I said in the other thread that this is one of the best movies of the year. Granted, I haven't kept up this year with all the oscar contenders so my frame of reference isn't great, but this one will at least be up there for me.

We saw it tonight. We've seen over 50 movies in the theater this year, and this has to be in the top 5. The film was stuffed with plot points, but except for the end, the pacing was excellent and the movie seemed neither rushed nor uneven. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but very well done.

During the scene in the bedroom of Lisbeth's supervisor (the second time around), I leaned over to Mrs. PAC, who had read the book and wasn't surprised or put off by grittiness, and said, "I'm in love with her." My wife replied, "Me too."

[Gidget]

I have read all three of these books and seen all the foreign film versions. I am nervous about the newest one. Does it plan to be a trilogy? Also I really loved Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth, it is pretty difficult for me to see this new girl in the previews lately. I really loved the books, all of them. And really appreciated the many different plots and how they intertwined throughout the book trilogy.

[Pheidippides]

Maybe I overstated a bit. Some backstory was given during the movie, at least enough to establish who she was and her interest in wanting to help all these girls that were taken advantage of and murdered, and all of that was kind of key to understanding her. Over the course of three stories based principally on her character, I expect that there's going to be more of that type of character development. What I liked is that they didn't attempt to explain her "skills." And maybe they'll explain that over the next two installments in a way that makes sense, but for now I like that they didn't go down that path.

They don't really explain her skills in the next two books either - just that she's very good at what she does. And the epilogue (I haven't seen it - I assume it follows the outline of the book) is necessary to some degree, not only to set up the next two books but to continue the Pippi Longstocking archetype.

[MarkGrace]

And the epilogue (I haven't seen it - I assume it follows the outline of the book) is necessary to some degree, not only to set up the next two books but to continue the Pippi Longstocking archetype.

I figured that it was not only an epilogue but a bridge to the next portion of the story. But as a standalone film, it gave the movie a little drag there at the end. I actually watched the Swedish version last night and thought they handled the ending in a way that felt more like a wrap up without falling into that drag territory (but I thought the beginning and set up for his motive for taking the case was much better in the Fincher version). However, I was reading comments last night from people who had read the book, and many liked what Fincher did because they felt like he went into a bit more detail about what she was doing there at the end and expanded on her character. So who knows. Though watching it again last night, it opened up a fairly sizable plot hole that hadn't dawned on me when I first watched it. And that is, she is able to extract a billion dollars from the bank account of a magnate with apparent mob ties with seemingly little effort, yet has to give bj's and get raped because she can't get money out of the bank account that has her money in it?

[Pheidippides]

I figured that it was not only an epilogue but a bridge to the next portion of the story. But as a standalone film, it gave the movie a little drag there at the end. I actually watched the Swedish version last night and thought they handled the ending in a way that felt more like a wrap up without falling into that drag territory (but I thought the beginning and set up for his motive for taking the case was much better in the Fincher version). However, I was reading comments last night from people who had read the book, and many liked what Fincher did because they felt like he went into a bit more detail about what she was doing there at the end and expanded on her character. So who knows. Though watching it again last night, it opened up a fairly sizable plot hole that hadn't dawned on me when I first watched it. And that is, she is able to extract a billion dollars from the bank account of a magnate with apparent mob ties with seemingly little effort, yet has to give bj's and get raped because she can't get money out of the bank account that has her money in it?

The book is pretty good about that particular plot hole - her research and the scandal surrounding the gangster crook gave her opportunity that she didn't previously have to bilk money from him.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The book is pretty good about that particular plot hole - her research and the scandal surrounding the gangster crook gave her opportunity that she didn't previously have to bilk money from him.

Mrs. PAC and I have discussed Mark Grace's plot hole since seeing the movie Saturday. It bothered me quite a bit, and the book point n'man raises helps a little, but I still question why, with her obvious smarts, she couldn't have figured out a way around her financial woes sooner. Still, the plotline about her horrendously awful supervisor and her act of retribution was so immensely satisfying that I didn't let that particular plothole ruin an overall excellent movie experience.

[Flystripper]

Mrs. PAC and I have discussed Mark Grace's plot hole since seeing the movie Saturday. It bothered me quite a bit, and the book point n'man raises helps a little, but I still question why, with her obvious smarts, she couldn't have figured out a way around her financial woes sooner. Still, the plotline about her horrendously awful supervisor and her act of retribution was so immensely satisfying that I didn't let that particular plothole ruin an overall excellent movie experience.

She has a very strong code of ethics of which she never violates.

[Commando]

I went and saw this today. Rooney Mara. YOWZA! :thumbsup:

[UtahDan]

Super and I have seen both the versions of this recently. I actually liked the second better in pretty much every way. Daniel Craig works better, and I actually liked Rooney Mara just as well if not more. I looked her up on IMDB and this is too interesting not to share:

...she is one of four children of NFL football team New York Giants executive Timothy Christopher Mara and Kathleen McNulty, the granddaughter of Art Rooney, Sr., the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers football franchise. (Her mother's maiden name is Rooney.) Her paternal grandfather was Giants founder Tim Mara.

Also, her sister is Kate Mara who I know best from American Horror Story. Here they are together.

[MarkGrace]

I looked her up on IMDB and this is too interesting not to share:

Damn, dude. You need to venture outside of Mo forums more often.

[UtahDan]

Damn, dude. You need to venture outside of Mo forums more often.

:humblebrag: