Dragon One

I've been excited about seeing "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" as soon as I finished the first book in this trilogy.  The book itself started out a little slow, but the person who recommended it to me advised me to stick with it and it would move much more quickly later.  She was right.  The only way I put down the book once into it was the fact that I needed to work in the mornings.  The film was already done in Sweden, which is where the book is set.  I did not see that version, but hope to one day, as Salander is said to be played really well by that actress; but for now, I'll take the American version.  I was off on opening day, so I got myself to the Arclight Pasadena, despite shopping traffic.

• Her tattoo was AWESOME.  (So now that's out of the way).
• A fair warning to those of you that have not read the book: there is violence and sex and a rape scene, much of which is integral to the characterization and story line.  They did cut out some of what was in the book, but there's nudity here, so don't be stupid and bring young people.  
• I find it hilarious that Christopher Plummer is playing a character whose brother is a Nazi.  If you've never seen "The Sound of Music", maybe this is why you're puzzled at this thought.
• Rooney Mara does a great job as Lisbeth Salander.  I love that this character is strong, despite her difficult past.  She's also intelligent.  I can't wait to see what she does in the rest of the trilogy, if, indeed, they film it.  At this point, I've not yet finished the 3rd book, but that doesn't matter.
• I didn't remember MIkael's daughter in the book.  Perhaps I missed that part. 
•  I expected to see one relationship with Mikael and another character that didn't happen, but I guess they didn't have time to include it.  Or maybe the filmmakers didn't think Daniel Craig needed to be all Bond-like with all of the women.
• I didn't know beforehand that Robin Wright was in this film.  She looks really different from her old Buttercup days, mostly because they don't cover up her freckles with makeup.
• Whoa!  Goran!  When I was making a picture of Armansky in my head, he was not at all dreamy like Mr. Visnjic.  I like this version better.  :)
• Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails composed the score.  I giggled when one of Lisbeth's contacts was wearing a NIN shirt as he answered the door.  The music playing during the opening credits was very Reznor, and the visuals that went with it were quite interesting.
• The movie was pretty true to the book as far as character and story go.  Of course, some stuff was cut for brevity and there was a change from an Australian location to London, but those changes didn't make a big difference to the film.  Location, by the way:  it's cold in Sweden.  I could almost feel the chill while watching those outdoor scenes.  Great cinematography.

Excellent film.  I liked the movie, although the rape scene did its job and disturbed me.  It did not help that the trailers prior to the movie were about demonic possession, and set a scary tone for me anyway.  Although the movie is not really Christmas-y itself, it starts and ends at Christmastime, so it was OK to see during the holidays, right?  ;)