Slow and mostly devoid of the stellar chemistry between its two leads, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is a disappointingly uneven conclusion to the Millennium trilogy.
Slow and mostly devoid of the stellar chemistry between its two leads, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is a disappointingly uneven conclusion to the Millennium trilogy.
Author Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" winds to a close with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, director Daniel Alfredson's adaptation of the best-selling novel following punky protagonist Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as she fights to prove that she's innocent of committing multiple murders. As Lisbeth lies in intensive care, the corrupt officials in high office attempt to take advantage of her incapacitated state by accusing her of murder. But fiercely independent Lisbeth isn't
about to play the scapegoat, and the more her accusers work to ruin her life, the harder she and her loyal friend Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) must push back to prove them wrong. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
It's only our investment in these fascinating characters and in wholly unraveling the mystery of Lisbeth Salander's awful past that keep it compelling.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is too akin to the tidying up of a television-series finale - albeit a very classy franchise with fine characters and able performances.
If you haven't seen the first two films, do so and then see this one. If you have seen them, chances are you're already in the ticket line. Hornet's Nest has such a sweet sting.
Much of the problem can be traced to the villains of the piece: The snakes in the establishment are a bunch of really old white guys. Now this may be true to life, but it's hell on drama.
The "Millennium" completist doesn't need to be told to pick this up, but would be well advised to understand that the set contains the TV version of the trilogy.
Unlike its two predecessors, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest boasts a briskly-paced opening half hour that proves effective at immediately drawing the viewer into the movie...
For me the most deadening aspect of these films is the presence of Michael Nykvist as Blomqvist; he seems to have a personality by-pass, and remains expressionless at all times, no matter what's going on.
The best thing that can be said about the excruciatingly dull, badly made closing chapter in this punishingly bad Swedish crime trilogy is that it really whets the appetite for the upcoming American version.
While the least satisfying instalment in the trilogy, this still throbs with a slow-burning tension and provides an appropriate farewell to a compelling series.
Lisbeth Salander remains the riveting centerpiece of the two films that follow on from Dragon Tattoo, but, alas, her continuing story has been winnowed down in a way that makes it -- and her -- feel smaller than before.
The gap between this and Dragon Tattoo is pretty big -- this won't be on my '10 Best' list and Tattoo might -- but as the rest of the story, it does nicely.
A great and fitting conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy. Stronger than "The Girl Who Played with Fire," this film brings the whole series together in a tense and satisfying way. The court scenes are gripping and the final moments between Lisbeth and Mikael are perfectly sweet and touching. The film hits all the right
notes, ensuring a standout trilogy gets the ending it deserves.
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