No matter what language it's in, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" casts a spell over critics.
David Fincher's English-language version of the Stieg Larsson novel, about a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig) and a disturbed hacker (Rooney Mara) who team up to solve a decades-old killing, is debuting to strong reviews. It follows the popular Swedish film adaptation that came out two years ago.
AP Movie Writer David Germain gave it three and a half stars out of four. He wrote: "Its harsh emotional terrain, where cruelty flourishes and compassion suffocates, could have wound up softened and sweetened, yet this was an ideal match of filmmaker and material. Fincher is one of the least sentimental directors in Hollywood. If anything, his "Dragon Tattoo' is even bleaker than the 2009 Swedish-language hit."
Also opening over the Christmas weekend is "War Horse," Steven Spielberg's old-fashioned historical epic about a boy (Jeremy Irvine) and his magical horse, who are separated during World War I. AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire gave the film two stars out of four, saying: ""War Horse' features a strong cast and the sort of impeccable production values you would expect from Spielberg. ... And yet it's overlong, painfully earnest and sometimes even hokey."
Here's a look at how these movies and others fared on the top review websites as of Friday afternoon. Each score is the percentage of positive reviews for the film:
- "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo": Metacritic, 71; Movie Review Intelligence, 78.2; Rotten Tomatoes, 85. Average: 78.1.
- "War Horse": Metacritic, 73; Movie Review Intelligence: 77.7; Rotten Tomatoes, 76. Average: 75.6.
- "The Adventures of Tintin": Metacritic, 67; Movie Review Intelligence, 67.9; Rotten Tomatoes, 75. Average: 70.
- "We Bought a Zoo": Metacritic, 57; Movie Review Intelligence, 60; Rotten Tomatoes, 58. Average: 58.3.
- "In the Land of Blood and Honey": Metacritic, 56; Movie Review Intelligence, 59.5; Rotten Tomatoes, 45. Average: 53.5.
- "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close": Metacritic, 40; Movie Review Intelligence, 66.3; Rotten Tomatoes, 53. Average: 53.1.
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