The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
- Year:2009
- Rating:MA
- Director:Daniel Alfredson
- Cast:Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace
- Release Date:March 03, 2011
- Distributor:Rialto
- Running time:147 minutes
- Film Worth:$15.50
- FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
While the least satisfying instalment in the trilogy, this still throbs with a slow-burning tension and provides an appropriate farewell to a compelling series.
In the final instalment of the Millennium Trilogy books by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest, the tempo slows and we are shown a different side of the series' heroine, Lisbeth Salander, making it much longer for the enthralling tension of the earlier films to develop. Like the book, however, its slow unfurling is essential, as it wraps up all the elements of the complex plot and provides an appropriate farewell for its oddly captivating heroine.
Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is recovering in hospital from three bullet wounds sustained at the end of the second film. Critically injured, she is barely capable of moving, much less performing any of the stunts that kept us mesmerised in the other films. If she makes a full recovery, she is due to stand trial in Stockholm for three murders. Lisbeth's ability to prepare her own defence is obviously severely limited. Others, such as journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and her lawyer, Annika Giannini (Annika Hallin), work furiously to prove her innocence and reveal what really took place over the years of conspiracy against her, as Lisbeth got too close to the secrets of a group of powerful men.
Of the three films, this is the least satisfying, largely due to the change in focus away from Lisbeth in the first half, as other characters and storylines dominate, but once in the courtroom, it comes into its own.
Again, Rapace is superb. Despite her character's limited dialogue, she has a wonderful ability to convey emotion, and to make us care about Lisbeth's destiny.
It will be interesting to see what David Fincher will do with the American remake of these films. The bar is set high, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth. Stay tuned!
