Columbia Pictures
158 min. dir. by David Fincher, with Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, and Christopher Plummer

Someone is trying to test my ability to not reference source material for new films. Now in its third iteration (first the novel, then the Swedish film), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the R-rated Harry Potter of this generation. Attempting to push the envelope, this new version is sure to shock and prod at those who are unaware of what they are about to see. For fans of the book or original film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a two-and-a-half-hour battle of debating which film got it right.

Recently shamed and vilified investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist has received an odd request to meet with aging industrialist Henrik Vanger, who promises the meeting will be worth his time. Troubled and sheltered Lisbeth Salander, whose life is a whirlwind to begin with, is stuck in a world of pain after her close friend and state-appointed guardian suffered a stroke. During his investigation, Blomkvist learns that Salander conducted an illegally thorough background check on him and realizes he needs her expertise to help with his investigation. After spending time dealing with their own issues, Blomkvist and Salander are thrust together in an odd twist of fate to find Henrik Vanger in his search for who killed his niece 45 years ago.

After an overindulgent James Bond-style credit sequence, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo dives right into immediate character development. A more meticulous study than that of the original, those familiar with the story may find themselves itching for the more investigative pieces to fall into place. Having never read the book (but seeing the original film), the title always throws me for a loop. Lisbeth obviously had a tattoo of a dragon, but the story does not just follow her and does not feel that it is truly about her. Yes, she becomes the pure focal point of the follow-ups, but the book’s original Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, helps to broaden the story’s point.

Put the two film version next to each other and it becomes a pick-and-choose adventure of which parts worked well in one, but not the other. The original film spent much more time exploring the computer hacker side of Lisbeth’s world, whereas the new film treats it more like a throwaway. You obviously know she is an expert at it, but it asks more of the viewer to fill in the gaps. The original also flushed out some of the minor players a bit more, making the mystery a little more expansive. Focusing more on just the main players makes the outcome even more obvious than in in the Swedish version.

Both films suffer from having to breeze through the damaged history of the Vanger family. While I’m sure it is far more expansive in the book, it’s hard to focus on the mountains of information being thrown out in the film. In this version, names are thrown about and characters are introduced, but they seem to disappear quickly and add no weight to the situation. Even the investigation whips by once Lisbeth is on the case. The growing relationship between the two main characters seems more focused in the first adaptation.

In writing this review, I can already tell I am spending too much time comparing two movies, but that is what anyone familiar with the books and/or films will do. All I can think about is how the new version seemed better grounded and less flimsy. At the same time, the original took out the right sections of unnecessary back stories to make the film move quicker. The one thing the original has over the new version in spades is the parade picture discovery scenes. What was an eerie and chilling examination the first time around becomes more muddled and feeling less here.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a mystery without much mystery. A vessel for a story about the abuse of women, the films seems to spend too much time on the investigative side, and this takes away from what it’s meant to stand for. The power and horror is all there, but too much time trying to sort out the details muddle the point. Those who have not delved into the world of the Millennium series are sure to be drawn in by the shocking events within the film, but I fear they will be caught up in the mystery as well, missing the real power of the story.

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache(http://shalitsstache.com) and also the contributing film writer for IPaintMyMind (http://ipaintmymind.org).