The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I don't know what I was expecting, to be honest. I read the book, by Steig Larson, and loved it. I saw the original Swedish version starring the incendiary Noomi Rapace, and loved it. Now, here comes the American version, directed by my very favorite director (David Fincher), starring a total badass as Lisbeth (Rooney Mara), and what? I was slightly disappointed but I can't exactly put my finger on why. The movie was absolutely great. The directing was great, the adaptation was great, the performances were great, the music was great. The movie will most likely make my Top Ten List of the year (it's currently in there, but there are still a few more movies to see). Again, I don't know what I was expecting, but somehow I was expecting more.
In case you have been living under a rock, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is about Mikael Bloomqvist (Daniel Craig), a disgraced Swedish journalist who gets hired by an aging billionaire (Christopher Plummer) to officially write his memoirs but unofficially investigate the mysterious disappearance of his favorite niece, Harriet, forty years earlier. You see, the entire deranged, crazy, awful, detestable Vanger family was together on their island for a yearly meeting. The only bridge onto the island was shut down due to an accident. Then Harriet disappeared and the only explanation was that someone on the island must have killed her and buried her body. So, Mikael must try to find something new within the forty year mystery that will help him finally catch the killer. Eventually he asks for a research assistant and they give him the bad ass, punk rock, leather wearing computer hacker who, unbeknownst to him, did his background check - Lisbeth Salander (Mara), who is arguably the greatest character in modern day literature (definitely the greatest female character, but character in general is debatable, I guess... though, not for me). The disgraced journalist and the anti-social ward of the state team up and delve into a mystery so much more complex than originally thought by anyone. And so you have one of the best murder mystery, female empowerment films of the last ten years or so.
So, then, why was I disappointed?
I still can't put my finger on it. Maybe my expectations were just way too high. Fincher is a film god and I guess I was expecting him to make some radical changes that I, as a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo purist, would still love. He did keep the ending from the book (which the Swedish version did not), which I loved. He did change a major plot point in the third act which I think made more sense anyway. Other than that, it was just another version of something that was already amazing. Fincher's film was much darker, maybe. The music was eerie and creepy and wonderful. The performances were top notch. Daniel Craig, who I was on the fence about, was a great complicated leading man. Christopher Plummer was perfect as the sweet old Henrik. Robin Wright, who seriously has never looked hotter, was great in a small role. Stellan Skarsgaard was fantastic - elegant and creepy - as Martin Vanger. But, Mara, of course, steals the show as Lisbeth. With her tattoos, piercings, bleached eye brows, and sometime Mohawk, she doesn't even have to say a word. She invokes so much with a mere look. She is perfect, almost as good as Rapace was. The movie suffers from the same things that the book and the Swedish version suffers from which is to say, that it's part of a trilogy so after the mystery wraps up, there is still a good twenty minutes to go and so it sort of feels anti-climactic in a way.
So, I guess I was expecting too much. I guess I built it up too much in my mind. I have been anticipating this movie for over a year. Still, it was great in just about every way. Maybe, with time, I will appreciate it a little bit more.
Grade: B+