The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist
Director: Daniel Alfredson
So, the final part of the Millennium Trilogy arrives on the big screen.
In the third film based on Stieg Larsson's books, the action takes up just moments after the close of the second film. Lisbeth Salander is being choppered to hospital, shot repeatedly and on the brink of death after tracking down her father Alexander Zalachenko and exacting her revenge.
Facing charges of attempted murder, Salander is trapped - with the police wanting to hurry her trial along and with the shadowy cabal The Section determined to get rid of her before their existence becomes known, her prospects don't look good.
But as ever, her faithful friend and journalist of the Millennium magazine Mikael Blomkvist (the ever stoic faced Nyqvist) is determined to clear her name.
However, his quest for justice this time could come at a very high personal cost as those planning the conspiracy are getting closer to achieving their aims....
I'll freely admit that I've never been blown away by these films - sure, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a good watch but the sequel The Girl Who Played With Fire was a bit of a disappointment with its penchant for car chases.
However, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is a triumphant
end to the trilogy - and while some will be put off by the lack of
action, the tension in this one is nail biting.
Sure, with most of it taking place in drab corridors, inside a
hospital or a courtroom, there's a lot more expected of the actors
- and the main duo Rapace and Nyqvist deliver in spades.
Their performances this time around are not showy - they're subtle, layered and peppered with looks and glances which tell you everything you need to know about the characters. Both throw in extremely watchable turns - with Nyqvist making his Blomkvist doggedly determined to clear his friend's name and Rapace saying so much by physically saying so little. It's credit to this pair - who once again, unfortunately spend so much time apart (as the story dictates) that you care so much how it ends.
Yet, it's the story which is more of the star this time (one character even remarks "It's like a classic Greek tragedy") as the various threads are drawn together in the web of decades old conspiracy, the drama is tautly pulled together; so much so that at the devastating end in the courtroom, the restrained directing and story telling works so much better because of it.
The best moment of this film though is the final scene - beautifully poignantly played and not at all what you'd expect given the journey these two share, it is a wonderful testament to the end of the trilogy - and one can only hope that the forthcoming Hollywood remake doesn't abandon it for something much more showy and crowd pleasing.
Watch the trailer for The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest here.
