In this last installment, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence.
Having been through a harrowing battle for survival in the last film, Lisbeth, the quiet but guarded protagonist, has to break down some of the walls that she has put up. The only person that she has let see behind the mask – Mikael, fights to prove her innocence and puts his magazine, his staff and his own life on the line to save Lisbeth as it appears that she doesn’t want to save herself.
The three films in the Millenium trilogy are a rare breed. The first film feels like a psychological thriller but without a definative bad guy .The second film has a denser plot, but without as much immediacy that was present in the first outing.
The third one though ends with a bang. Although the pace is slower than an average American thriller, this is not a bad thing. With the plot packed with many twists and turns that you don’t see coming, the pace is as it needs to be. Throughout the series, it would be a disservice if the editing was a rapid fire affair.
The cinematography in Hornets’ Nest is less about form but of function. It is very well shot, but nothing pops out and smacks you in the face like the first film did.
The Director is again Daniel Alfredson, who also helmed the last entry. By slowing the pace and making you concentrate on the story instead of the scenery, he makes the film coherent and easy to follow. The story unfolds as it should and I think in lesser hands, would have felt laborious.
Where the films strength really lies is with it’s cast. Noomi Rapace is again just brilliant as Lisbeth Salander. Her performance is so consistant that you truly forget that she is an actor playing a part. For all her outward appearance, her role is mostly internal. She gives nothing away at anytime but still manages to make you love her tenaciousness.
Michael Nyqvist is where we find the true heart of the picture. His passion and intensity shows that, even in a foriegn language movie, we can emote with his character even if we are seperated by our native tongues.
The film is a rewarding and satisfying way to end the series and as the jigsaw puzzle comes together, the film concludes with a sense of closure. It is a shame that we will not have any more chapters in this story as the original author Stieg Larsson passed away in 2004.
I give this film 4 out of 5
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest is in Cinemas on March 3rd