The final thriller to be based on Stieg
Larsson’s monumentally popular trilogy of novels, The Girl Who Kicked
the Hornets’ Nest sees the incomparable Lisbeth Salander (played to
a t by the incomparable Noomi Rapace) hospitalised with numerous
injuries inflicted by her father Alexander, and as if that isn’t enough
the feisty heroine is also set to face trial for murder. It’s up to
ever-intrepid Mikael Blomqvist (Michael Nyqvist) to uncover the reasons
for Lisbeth’s seemingly shoddy treatment by Swedish authorities, and
possibly just save her life, and his own, in the process.
The final instalment in the Millennium
series has received the most mixed reviews of any instalment thus far,
with the general consensus being that it is a fairly languid conclusion
to a riveting tale. Time magazine declared it the finest film of
the series, and The Daily Mirror, ever circumspect, went one step
further in acclaiming it as ‘the thriller of the decade.’ Time Out,
however, stated ‘a more apt title would be The Girl Who Sat Quietly
in a Dimly Lit Room’, and with a 52% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes
this latter encapsulation would seem more indicative of critical
reaction as a whole.
The truth, though, probably lies somewhere
in between these two extremes. Hornets’ Nest isn’t as awash with
the same calibre of engrossing drama, snappy dialogue and unexpected
narrative convolutions as its predecessors, though it’s a more fitting
and accomplished conclusion to one of the most rapturously received
trilogies of the 21st century than many of its more tepid
reviews would seem to suggest. True the pivotal character of Lisbeth
Salander is largely squandered, her sassy outbursts and unquenchable
spirit for adventure necessarily curtailed by her medical woes, not
least of which is a bullet in the brain, and Nyqvist’s Mikael does seem
oddly inert. Ultimately however those who have read the books, or seen
the preceding two filmic adaptations, will need to watch this one, and
as far as bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion and whetting
appetites for the impending US adaptation, The Girl Who Kicked the
Hornets’ Nest is far from a failure.
Special Features
Interview with Noomi Rapace
Interview with Michael Nyqvist
Theatrical Trailer
