Well, here we are folks! After a three month wait since its previous installment, the finale of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo arrives. Based upon the critically-acclaimed Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest continues the journey of Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace), as she, along with her friends, continue to not only prove her innocence, but also to expose the conspiracy behind her troubled past.
Not unlike the manner in which it was filmed, the film picks up where the previous film leaves off as Lisbeth is transported to the hospital following the events that transpired at the end of The Girl Who Played With Fire. After being treated to Lisbeth’s surgery to remove her gun wounds in the opening credits, we cut to Millennium magazine, as Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and company work diligently to prove Lisbeth’s innocence regarding the murders in the previous film as well as the attempted murder of her father. Meanwhile, sinister forces continue to conspire against Lisbeth as the covert sect known as “The Section” tries to decide on what to do with her and her father. In addition, human juggernaut Nierdermann, now on the run, still lurks waiting for his moment to pounce on Lisbeth. What’s a girl to do, right?
Thankfully as Lisbeth tries to recover, dedicated reporter Blomkvist is up for the challenge as he acquires the aid of his attorney sister Annika (Annika Hallin) to represent Lisbeth in the impending trial, as he continues to gather up evidence which she can use in Lisbeth’s trial. Unfortunately, The Section has many resources at its disposal as it attempts to deter Blomkvist & company from uncovering any of their secrets by using a variety of tactics, not including: blackmail, intimidation, and most notably, murder. However, due to an unexpected aid from the police (Mirja Turestedt & Niklas Falk) as well as a lending hand from fellow hacker Plague (Kohler), she is able to gain the necessary evidence to not only clear her name but to also thwart her many adversaries.
For fans of the books as well as the film series, the story is handled very effectively by director, Daniel Alfredson. He does a decent job trying to balance the primary story, being that of Lisbeth, as well as resolving the subplots that account for the loose ends left by The Girl Who Played With Fire. As expected, actress Noomi Rapace steals the show as anti-hero Lisbeth; often being to communicate without words. Some specific instances of this rare ability Rapace has to communicate without speaking would be the moments towards the end of the film in which Lisbeth struggles to thank Annika & Mikael (on separate occasions) for their help. In any other film, you would expect her character to thank them, but Rapace stays to true to form as Lisbeth, responding in the way only Lisbeth would. Rapace’s co-stars also do solid work here bringing life to the supporting characters that are connected to Lisbeth. The only drawback with this film would be the pace. At an lengthy 2 ½ hours, the film could have been condensed by about fifteen or twenty minutes of its runtime. Yet, in retrospect, it could be argued as an expected problem, seeing the intense task any director would have in translating such a dense novel series to the big screen. All in all though, this is really satisfying conclusion to a memorable trilogy.
FINAL GRADE: B+
TRR Movie Revue by Brandon Troy
BRAVO review-and actually you got it right. I fear for the American version but I will keep an open mind. This is a mini series in Sweden which ties up the loose ends and let you absorb all the character-this series is like our LOST but better, they actually let you know who is good and bad and they END it correctly. The first movie was perfection, the second a ride and this one a suitable ending.AHHHHH!