Well, its been a while since I've done one of these. With all the traveling taking up my time, movie reviews (and just movies in general) have fallen by the way side. No worries though, with a chunk of time between now and my next adventure (Russia? Ireland? I'm still debating.....) other modes of entertainment are in the running to fill the doldrums of Whitesboro....
Well, this movie, which I am just going to call "Dragon", was actually started while I was waiting in the Chicago airport on my way Down Under. Its a bit difficult to watch in a crowded area, what with some of the brutality on display (a rape scene? Yep, hopefully the little kid sitting next to me in the waiting area didn't see that bit), and its super long (nearly touching 3 hours), so I ended up watching in installments, and just finished the remainder last night.
I was pretty stoked by Dragon when it came out. Its directed by David Fincher, who did an awesome job with "The Social Network", and it has some favorite actors of mine, namely Stellan Skarsgard (massively under-rated) and Daniel Craig. Combined with the fact that its based on the first book in the fantastic "Millennium" series, things looked promising.
When all was said and done though, I can't say that "Dragon" really set my world on fire. I've never really done well with movies based on books I've already read (read: Lincoln Lawyer), and though I hoped this would be different, I was disappointed. The fact that I already knew the outcome and what the progression of events was going to be, its long running time eventually became a drag. It follows nearly verbatim with the story-line in the book, and the changes are superficial at best. No twists or new elements were injected into the story, making it all a bit redundant. I think the lesson to be learned here is that mysteries just don't translate from book to movie. If you know the outcome of the mystery already...then it isn't really a mystery, is it? I suppose it is asking a bit much for the director to do something dynamic with a story like this, particularly when it comes from such a famous book, but again you have to do something to justify the nearly 3 hours used watching.
The acting is decent enough, but nothing really to write home about. Rooney Mara does do a good job as the title character, but was it really Oscar-nomination worthy? That I don't know about. I will say though that my favorite scene comes towards the end, courtesy of Stellan Skarsgard. I won't give away any plot details, for those who have yet to read the book or see this movie (if such a person exists), but there is one particular moment when Skarsgard really takes the controls and shows what he's made of.
Just so there is no misunderstanding, there really isn't anything wrong with this movie. If you haven't read the book, you will probably find it to be quite good, though it is a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. This of course didn't bother me any, since I already knew how things would end. For me personally, however, I needed a little something extra, and unfortunately Mr. Fincher didn't offer it up. I have it on good word that the Swedish version is much better (that is another thing, actually. Having the whole movie in English when it really should be in another language sticks in my craw a bit). Perhaps that is worth a look.
Verdict: If you haven't read the book, its probably worth a shot. Though you really should read the book. Grade: B
If you liked this movie you might also like: Ummm, er....girls with tattoos?
