The visuals and tone, as always, are better than necessary, but this time the story wasn't as riveting or profound as Fincher's best. It's mostly The Guy Who is Currently Playing James Bond instead of following this Dragon Tattoo lady. It balances a few storylines for some reason. That was the other thing I found odd and felt like focusing on the mystery instead. But even though the substance was lacking, Fincher puts his mark in all the aspects of filmmaking. The acting, camera work, editing and so on are so idiosyncratic.