The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Return of the Salander

The year of Lisbeth Salander comes to an end (for this year anyway) with the release of the third and last film in the Millennium Trilogy, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." Picking up where the last one left off, we watch as Lisbeth (the ever superb Noomi Rapace) slowly recuperates from the injuries inflicted on her by less than caring family members. She soon faces trial for murders and crimes we all know she did not commit, so Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist is excellent once again) and his staff at Millennium Magazine work to prove her innocence. Still, Lisbeth's cold bastard of a father Alexander Zalachenko vows silence his daughter for good, and threatens to expose the corruption he is fully a part of. All the while, Lisbeth's panzer tank of a half brother Ronald Niedermann is on the run, laying waste to just about everything in his path.

Of the three films in the series, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is easily the weakest. This one has more talk than action, and like the 2^nd film, it keeps Lisbeth and Mikael apart from each other more than we would like. But if you get past the things about this 3^rd movie, there's still a lot to appreciate. We have traveled along with these characters for two movies now, so it should be clear as to how emotionally invested we are in their collective fates. While society may view them from a distance, we see them for the individuals that they are.

At the center of attention is Lisbeth Salander, far and away one of the strongest female heroines in recent literature. We see her beaten to a pulp, left for dead, and we watch as she endures a slow and painful recovery as she seeks a long overdue justice for all the wrongs that have been inflicted on her throughout her lifetime. With this third movie, we see fully why she is such a damaged human being, and how she was rendered a victim through false imprisonment and abuse which forever wrecked the trust she could allow herself to put in others. We started this trilogy off by looking at her from a distance, thinking we knew what kind of person she was at first sight. By the end, we see her as a very complex human being who will no longer be manipulated against her will. Lisbeth no longer cares if you like her. She just wants you to know that if you mess with her, the payback will demolish you completely.

Watching Noomi Rapace in her last go around as Lisbeth is a never ending thrill. Once we see her head into the courtroom, all decked out in full punk regalia with a Mohawk to boot, we cheer her on as she spits in the face of a world that has tossed her out like garbage. Those intense glares she shoots off at the prosecutors across the room penetrate right through the silver screen and pins us to our theater seats (which were hopefully comfortable to sit in). Throughout this trilogy, Noomi has walked a fine line with Lisbeth in making her both brilliant at work as a hacker while being just one step away from becoming a full on sociopath. Whatever you make of Lisbeth Salander, Rapace makes us care deeply about this deeply wounded character, and we revel in her persistent abilities to outthink those who wronged her. Seeing those who deluded themselves into thinking they had her under their complete control get their just desserts is more than immensely satisfying!

But as great as Noomi Rapace is here, we shouldn't forget to mention Michael Nyqvist and his understated work as relentless reporter Mikael Blomkvist. Instead of making Mikael out to be this heroic figure searching for truth and justice for Lisbeth without fear of reprisal, Michael makes him completely human with all the flaws we like to think we don't have. Not once in these films do you ever really catch Michael acting this role as much as he inhabits it. Michael gets the audience to be fully invested in this character as he struggles for an end to Lisbeth's unfair character assassination while risking his livelihood as well as those who work for him. We root for him on his quest, but we also feel his pain and confusion when escalating threats come to tear his magazine apart.

"The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" also features other strong performances from the supporting cast. Annika Hallin is great here as Mikael's sister Annika who agrees to represent Lisbeth at her trial. This is another strong female character who holds her own with her anti social client and with a group of corrupt men who are about to be obliterated by her very direct cross examination. Anders Ahlbom exudes the Bjurman-like slime of his character Dr. Peter Teleborian, the man who changed the course of Lisbeth's life and unforgivably so. Lena Endre also returns as Millennium Magazine editor Erika Berger who acts as the conscience Mikael needs to hear from time to time. Her face a mask of devotion and fear, Lena gives life to another strong female character in a movie that is delightfully full of them.

But yeah, overall this does feel like a weak ending to this film trilogy which was thrust into American movie theaters all in the space of a year. It's not an utterly frustrating conclusion the way "The Matrix Revolutions" was (I'm still trying to get over that one), but it feels like "The Hornet's Nest" could have been stronger even if that meant taking liberties with Larsson's novels. It also would have been great to have Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist share more time onscreen together, as their chemistry and tension were among the main reasons "Dragon Tattoo" was so damn good. Plus, the character of Ronald Niedermann is left to wander around the plot without much of a reason to be there. His need to eliminate his half-sister feels somewhat unmotivated.

Still, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is a very engrossing experience that is anything but boring, and there's no way fans of this trilogy of Stieg Larsson stories is going to pass this up. The fully developed characters give this film its dramatic power, and we are with them all the way to the end in the hopes of finding some fairness in a world that is crueler to some more than others. Plus, the performances of Rapace and Nyqvist are not to be missed, and unless there are some more Lisbeth Salander stories lurking in Larsson's vaults, this will be the last time you will ever see them in these roles.

So now we get to look forward to the American remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" which David Fincher directing. Best of luck to Rooney Mara in the role of Lisbeth Salander, as filling the shoes once worn by Noomi Rapace will be quite the challenge. Here's hoping it's good. With Fincher behind the camera, it certainly will be anything but boring.

*** out of ****

See also:

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl Who Played With Fire