The other day I got to purchase my blu-ray copy of the American "Dragon Tattoo." I just finished watching it for the first time since its release in theaters and enjoyed it with no expectations what so ever. I was blown away. It was almost like I had a totally different experience this time. Rather then constantly comparing it to the Swedish original I really got to study the film on its own. This movie really is not a remake of the Swedish film but it is actually a different take of the novel written by Stieg Larsson. It is its own adaptation. I have found new love for this film that I did not have before and I strongly admire David Fincher's crafty direction and Rooney Mara's powerful performance. In this sitting she made me forget about Noomi Rapace, for the moment. I have difficulty deciding which film I like more. There are pluses and minuses to each I suppose. They are not necessarily minuses but one film focuses and executes better in one area then the other film may. I do not write this re-review so that you will disregard my previous review. All of the points that I made before remain true but the point is I thought of those things the first time in comparison to the Swedish film but this time I could not think of any of those negative. I was swooped away by the awkward romance in this version. There is much more focus on the relationship between Blomkvist and Salander in this movie. The ending of this film is done with perfection and brings a whole new complexity and side to this story. In this second sitting I noticed more of the fantastic dialogue and beautiful acting. Some of the lines said that go by so fast actually have powerful meaning that represents the emotions of the character throughout the entire film. When Lisbeth says that she has now found someone and is happy it makes the ending that much more heartbreaking. I originally thought this film was choppy and jumped around to much but now I believe that it serves the purpose and intensity of the story. I still believe the actual investigation and climax is better in the Swedish film but I believe that this film hits harder emotionally. This film goes deeper rather then just being an interesting, gruesome, and entertaining mystery it becomes an emotional powerful work of cinema. This does not mean that the Swedish film is not powerful I just feel the need right now to correct the skepticism I had on this film previously. Both films are fantastic in their own unique ways and I refuse to decide which one is superior to the other. This movie has earned a higher ranking as one of my favorite films of 2011.
5 out of 5 Stars - Swedish
5 out of 5 Stars - American
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