(Sweden, 148 min.)
Dir: Daniel Alfredson; Writ: Jonas Frykberg and Ulf Ryberg.
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre, Annika Hallin, Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl, Mikael Spreitz.
The film version of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy comes to a satisfying close with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is, comparatively, the lesser of the three novels, but the same cannot be said of the film. Like its forerunner, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Hornet’s Nest is a film that improves upon its source material. Sure, the Stieg Larsson books are great (one need not go any further than compare the two versions of The Girl who Played With Fire to make such an observation), but the Millennium saga seems especially well suited for the big screen.
With the slick cinematographic eye of director Daniel Alfredson, Hornet’s Nest is both a riveting thrilling and a powerful social commentary on victims of violence and bureaucratic corruption.
Hornet’s Nest picks up immediately where Fire left off. A brief recap of the concluding events is spliced within the opening sequence Hornet’s Nest, but appreciating the film is a hopeless cause for any moviegoer who has not seen the first two instalments. As those who saw (or read) The Girl who Played With Fire may recall, the story of Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) ended with a bloody climax in which she confronted her maniacal and abusive father, Alexander Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov). Hornet’s Nest begins with Lisbeth and her father being transported to the hospital in police custody. Part three of the Millennium trilogy thus unveils all the secrets of Lisbeth’s dark past as she is brought to court for the string of murders for which she was accused in Fire.