THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

Written by Jonas Frykberg

Directed by Daniel Alfredson

Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist

If there is one girl out there who just keeps getting herself into more and more trouble, it is Lisbeth Salander. First she goes and gets a great big dragon tattoo on her back and then, despite many lessons to the contrary, she goes and plays with some fire. Now, I know Lisbeth didn’t have the best of upbringings – her father did try to bury her alive in the last installment after all – but she’s really gone and done it this time around. In the final chapter of the Swedish film interpretations of Steig Larsson’s international publishing phenomenon, this time Lisbeth is THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST.

While dragon tattoos and playing with fire are certainly intriguing notions, kicking a hornet’s nest is really just asking for it. That said, considering the severity of what the title implies, the close to this trilogy is certainly the tamest of the three films. The series started out as a theatrical release but transitioned to television with the second film and has been getting less biting as it has progressed, if you can consider people being lit on fire less biting, that is. The premise of the conclusion finds Lisbeth (played one last time by the fantastic Noomi Rapace) in a hospital to start, a jail to follow and a courtroom after that. Meanwhile, her guardian angel, Mikael Blomkvyst (Michael Nyqvist), is doing his darndest to prove Lisbeth’s innocence but, like the second film, their storylines rarely overlap. With Lisbeth subdued and Blomkvyst elsewhere, the action is left in the hands of a bunch of retired spies and politicians. It would appear as though Lisbeth picked a geriatric hornet’s nest to kick.

The conspiracy that Lisbeth threatens to undo is reasonably convoluted and as it was only introduced in the second film, there is a lot of ground to make up for here. Some of the build required to piece everything together often feels forced, awkward and at times, even unbelievable. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST plays out like it’s rushing through everything to get to the end. As a result, a series that started out with an intense ferocity exits in a fairly conventional fashion. The trouble is the focus on the hornet’s nest when the only thing we ever really cared about was the girl herself.

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THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Starring Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace

Mikael Blomkvist: As we’ve been sharing files recently, I assume you’re up to date.

Expectations are tricky to avoid when you watch a movie from the last year that has already generated enough international buzz to warrant a fast tracked American remake before it even hits American screens. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, from Swedish director, Niels Arden Oplev, is that movie and fortunately, it is worth all the hype that is surrounding it. From the moment it begins with the reception of an odd gift to an old man who weeps when he sees it, its focus is clear and deliberate – this will be a journey shrouded in mystery and deciphering that mystery for ourselves will require visiting some very dark places. Consider yourselves warned.

Two stories unfold to begin with. The first follows reputed, middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist). He has just been found guilty of fabricating evidence to for a story that dragged a prominent businessman through some very dirty mud. He claims that he was set up but he still loses his job and his character. Unbeknownst to Mikael, he is also being investigated by a third party for entirely different reasons. A computer hacker hired out as a security company is following his movement closely. Her name is Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace). She is a young adult with a troubled past that she wears on her face in the form of piercings, studs and jet-black hair. Because of her gothic look, she is talked to, looked at and treated las though she is nothing. When Mikael starts investigating a 40-year-old murder, Lisbeth starts following his new case too. The real story starts when the two start working together instead of side by side in secret.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is on some levels, a straightforward whodunit. A powerful family with obvious secrets makes up the list of suspects in the investigation and evidence points in different directions, moving names up and down that list accordingly. Only each discovery uncovers a fresh and unexpected level of evil behind this deep-rooted murderous conspiracy and each of these levels reveals poignant connections between religion and misogyny. Like the intricate tattoo in the title, this one will leave you scarred for life.

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