I
must say that I expected a lot from The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo. Simply from reading online reviews and hearing about how
great the book series is, I figured this movie would have an
unbelievable plot, one that I'd remember for a long time. Now, the
movie was great and didn't necessary fall far short of those
expectations, but given what it was, they were a bit lofty to begin
with.
What
this movie boils down to is essentially a crime thriller, in which
two main characters are desperately searching for the killer of a
girl who mysteriously disappeared 40 years ago. Note that the movie
is a long one (just near two and half hours), but it also completely
earns that running time and doesn't slow down for a second. Overall,the movie is very, very good. It has lots of twists and turns, along
with extremely compelling characters with fascinating backgrounds.
And though the story doesn't exactly ooze originality, it's very well
written and well constructed, in ways that give it its own unique
flavor.
So
why didn't the movie necessarily live up to my expectations? Well,
they were too high to begin with, to start off. Aside from some
unusually compelling characters, the movie boils down to a pretty
typical killer hunt type of story. There are a lot of unexpected
elements that come into play, but also a twist that's pretty obvious
right from the get-go. And though this isn't necessarily a complaint
as much as it is just a picky mention, the movie does fall into a few
cliche moments (like a few convenient scenarios that would have
likely turned out much worse for the characters had this been real
life). I usually don't appreciate those moments in a movie that's
trying to be so realistic, but again, it's a picky complaint.
Also,
the movie kind of digs a little deeper into itself than its prepared
to come out of. It wraps up all of its plot's elements quite nicely
for the most part, but there are honestly so many of them that the
film stumbles a bit in its pacing in the last half hour as it tries
to finish all of them up. The climax of the story comes something
like half an hour before the end of the movie, and though I
appreciated that no plot holes were left, some of the revelations
didn't necessarily have to be delayed to the point where they were
all shoved into the end. This in no way made the movie boring, but it
certainly didn't follow the gripping pace of the previous two hours,
in my opinion.
I
realize I've been concentrating on the negatives a lot, but these
complaints are generally minor (and honestly take longer to explain
than my compliments). The movie is terrificly compelling and clearly
very well made. The actress who plays Lisbeth is nothing short of
phenomenal, and the actor playing Mikael is also quite good. There
are also some very emotional and interesting moments, although be
warned that some of them are very brutal, including rape, torture,
and some horribly gruesome deaths.
However, those who have seen
movies such as Seven and Zodiac will find a lot of similarities here,
which is definitely something that makes the movie a little less
memorable (it's very good, but doesn't quite have the originality or
punch of Seven nor Zodiac). I look forward to seeing the other two
movies in this trilogy though, because I truly enjoyed the characters
and the style of the filmmakers. Not the most memorable movie I've
ever seen, but a great movie to pick if you're bored this afternoon.
8.5/10
"Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Trailer "Leak" (2011)
'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' Wasn't the First Time Content Escaped Hollywood Early
COMMENTARY
|
Over the weekend, a red-band trailer (intended for audiences over 17)
for David Fincher's upcoming adaptation of The
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
leaked online. The trailer is showing overseas and, according to
eyewitness reports, stateside attached to The
Hangover Part II,
but showed up online by what appeared to be a handheld video taken in
a movie theater. The trailer remains online at this time, leading
many to believe (including The
Hollywood
Reporter) that Sony Pictures itself put the clip out there.
This
was hardly the first instance of material getting out a little
earlier than the studio might have expected. Here are three of the
most famous movie leaks.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Perhaps
the most infamous movie leak of all time came when the entirety of
X-Men
Origins: Wolverine
showedup online
over one month before its wide release (summary via HitFix).
The studio attempted as much damage control as possible, claiming (falsely, it turned out) that it was incomplete (a few effects needed work, but it represented the final cut). Regardless, it was out there, and it wasn't pretty. The film was downloaded over 4 million times. Though the movie ended up being a pretty big breadwinner for Fox -- bringing in nearly $180 million at the domestic box office -- the filmmakers never quite made it look good.
The studio attempted as much damage control as possible, claiming (falsely, it turned out) that it was incomplete (a few effects needed work, but it represented the final cut). Regardless, it was out there, and it wasn't pretty. The film was downloaded over 4 million times. Though the movie ended up being a pretty big breadwinner for Fox -- bringing in nearly $180 million at the domestic box office -- the filmmakers never quite made it look good.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
In
a situation resembling the Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo
affair, many speculated that Warner Brothers intentionally leaked 36
minutes of Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in
advance of its release last November.
The story even made it to CNN. Either way, the footage got out there very quickly, but ultimately didn't affect the box office one way or the other; Harry Potter films will be a massive success no matter what (that film managed to take in $295 million at the domestic box office, the third-highest gross in the franchise).
The story even made it to CNN. Either way, the footage got out there very quickly, but ultimately didn't affect the box office one way or the other; Harry Potter films will be a massive success no matter what (that film managed to take in $295 million at the domestic box office, the third-highest gross in the franchise).
Pineapple Express
It's
hard to imagine now, but there was a fair amount of secrecy
surrounding this 2008 stoner comedy. It was understood that the title
referred to some special and that somehow
art house favorite David Gordon Green was roped into the mix.
When the trailer leaked onto popular sites like FilmSchool Rejects, it was suddenly clear exactly what they were delivering. For some, that meant a tune-out, but others knew instantly that they'd be there opening night. As an R-rated pot comedy, it was never going to be a blockbuster, but Sony couldn't have cried over $87 million domestic on a $27 million budget.
When the trailer leaked onto popular sites like FilmSchool Rejects, it was suddenly clear exactly what they were delivering. For some, that meant a tune-out, but others knew instantly that they'd be there opening night. As an R-rated pot comedy, it was never going to be a blockbuster, but Sony couldn't have cried over $87 million domestic on a $27 million budget.
The
result is that a bit of leaked footage will only have the effect the
film (or the marketing department) can deliver on. If the leaked
footage looks terrible, it will have a negative effect. If people
like it, they're hardly going to be deterred just because they have
seen it on a different timetable than the studio's marketing
department had planned for. If anything, the feeling that the viewer
has gotten away with something will add to the allure. If nothing
else, it gets the film's name out there one more time, and no
publicity is bad publicity.
With
The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Sony should had nothing to worry about: The movie has a built-in fan
base from the novel's success, and the leaked trailer has received
nothing but massive
rounds
of applause
across the Internet. If the film can't deliver, the studio will have
a whole separate problem on its hands, but sooner or later the
trailer was going to be released to get people excited -- and that is
exactly what has happened.
Articles by: Mike
Zee, Scott Nye
Sources:
- Neil Miller, "Pineapple Express Red-Band Trailer Leaked Online," Film School Rejects
- Gregg Kilday, "Mysterious Trailer for David Fincher's 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Hits the Web," The Hollywood Reporter
- John D. Sutter, "Is 'Harry Potter' Leak Good for Publicity?" CNN
- Drew McWeeny, "Fox responds officially after 'Wolverine' workprint leaks online," HitFix
- Drew McWeeny, "Red-band trailer for 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' kickstarts online buzz," HitFix
- Devin Faraci, "Holy Crap, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trailer," Badass Digest
- Quint, "David Fincher's epic red band The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trailer leaks!" Ain't it Cool News
