Fincher has done his best to fit in as much of the novel as possible. There are parts that are understandably less detailed like the Wennerstrom case which is really a piece of exposition setting up Blomkvist as a desperate journalist who’s just spent his life savings on legal bills. The magazine, which in the book is Blomkvist’s motivation in life, also falls slightly by the way side with Erika being the only staff member introduced to us. There are some Hollywood/Fincher embellishments too, helping to explain the intricacies of Salander’s character.

Despite its length, the film doesn’t feel long due to the drawn out but constant revelations in the investigation, the graphic sub-plots and the arresting shots of the snow-covered Swedish countryside. While Craig is a little too fit for Larsson’s portly Blomkvist he does capture the restless obsessiveness of the reporter, niggling over all the case’s elements. Mara’s sullen apprehensiveness starkly portrays the oppressed but assertive Salander, personifying Larsson’s descriptions with a powerfully understated on-screen presence. While American translation remakes are often exaggerated and crass without the subtleties of the original language, Fincher’s attempt delivers Larsson’s layered plotting, abstruse characters and gory imagery with the same respect and veneration as Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 version.