Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (R) ★★½
Coming out later this month is the final chapter of this trilogy that has basically swept up the entire world with its intriguing novels by Stieg Larsson and interesting films. If the first film, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, was an investigative drama and the second film, Girl Who Played With Fire, was a thriller, Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is pure and simply a courtroom drama filled with spectacle and numerous speeches that basically tie up the knots left vacant by the first two films. Is is a good film? no doubt about it, We care so much about the characters because of the first two films that we cannot help but keep our attention throughout all the hokey courtroom drama that at times appears on screen.
The best of the series is without a doubt The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which -despite being 15 minutes too long- had the atmosphere and direction of a first rate picture and brought some much needed cinematic fervor to the surroundings. Hornet's Nest is a conventional way of ending the series, with its multiple speeches, climactic ambivalence and knot tying. I didn't however appreciate how the book's ending was somewhat changed in the film's final conclusion and resorted to a kind of weird inessential goodbye. In the novel, there is a final scene that is kind of expected -very anticlimactic- but also very satisfying and very appropriate for a series of novels about two main characters.
Which is not to say that there isn't an inch of excitement in director Daniel Alfredson's movie. From a hospital shooting to a final battle with a muscled giant, Lisbeth Salander's exciting persona rings true in every scene. Kudos must go to Noomi Rapace, who deserves a nomination for her portrayal of the femme fatale. I found her captivating throughout the series and -although I'm very much looking forward to it- almost irreplaceable in the American remake of the first film, coming out in 2011 and directed by maverick American filmmaker David Fincher. She's the heart and soul of the series and is the key reason to even watch the last two films directed by Alfredson. If you want something more effective check out the first film of the series, directed by Niels Arden Oplev.