Review of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009) by Jonathan C — 20 Mar 2011

After now viewing all three of the Swedish language films based on Stieg Larsson's bestselling "Millenium" trilogy, I have to say that I think these stories are best expressed on page. Each of these cinematic adaptations struggles to keep all of the pieces of these rather complicated, character-stuffed and twist-heavy books together, and none of the three have really been successful in doing so. For a person who has read the three books, one can see how hard the filmmakers strain to make these stories clear, involving, and believable. For a person who hasn't read the books, I'm sure the movies come off as incoherent and rushed. Had I seen these movies before reading the books, I have trouble believing I would've understood the reasons why the late Larsson's work has impacted pop culture.

To be fair, Larsson's books are sometimes tough to follow when you're reading them, and feature plenty of moments of silly, over-the-top twists or unbelievable aspects. But Larsson's work was so well written and rounded most of these flaws never occurred to me until after I put the books down. He managed to develop two brilliant literary characters, one of whom has become a true sensation, and stick them into timely thrillers with strong political agendas- Larsson had something to say, and he had a really fun and exciting way to say it. They are very smart, addictive books, but their genius pretty much stays on the page. It would take a very talented filmmaker to turn these stories into cinematic gold, because there is so much information, all of it pertaining to character and plot development, and excising it or changing it too much makes the filmed version quite problematic in terms of consistency or connection.

To be fair, the first movie almost got it right. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" boasted a truly sensation performance from Noomi Rapace as the iconic character Lisbeth Salander, and the film had a nice dark and sultry feel to it, making good use of its Swedish location and mood. But I felt that the movie plodded along with too little energy, most of it brought down by the miscasting of Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist, robbing the movie of a lot of fun by completing sucking out the energy and fun of Blomkvist and the interactions he has with Lisbeth. Nevertheless, I thought it was a pretty entertaining, nice job of trying to adapt the first book, which is probably the least complicated of the three.

The second film, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," impressed me a little less, mainly because of its rough structuring, leaving whole chunks of plot out and leaving a movie that felt rushed and hard to follow, with Lisbeth pretty much turning into some kind of vengeful superhero by the end of the film. Once again, Rapace saved the day, managing to make some of the more ridiculous moments at the climax of the film feel genuine. I re-watched both of these films before popping in the third and final chapter, and I felt that I maybe enjoyed them a bit more on a second viewing, but still didn't really feel like they did the books justice. They don't really even register to me as movies really, more like condensed made-for-TV versions.

"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornetâ(TM)s Nest" is the final installment, and it's potentially the trickiest of the books to adapt, as it sways back and forth between an old fashioned espionage thriller and a liberal hearted legal drama. Sadly, the film retains most of the same problems of the first two, particularly the second movie, as it plods along with a rather slow and dreary pace, introducing new characters left and right, struggling to keep the plot moving and understandable. It lacks most of the silly action of the second film, though, so it's a bit of an improvement in that department, and indeed, there are whole sections of the film that really shine. Overall though, this is a pretty mediocre finale to a series that never found its footing in the cinema from the get-go.

The second film ended in a sort-of cliffhanger, with Lisbeth shot in the head and being airlifted away from her evil father's hideout. The movie starts here with her treatment in a hospital, with doctors pulling a nasty bloody bullet out of her brain in a fairly graphic title sequence. We find out that Lisbeth's cold blooded father, Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) is still alive, and that a super secret group of old government agents is hoping to keep him quiet about what he knows. Blomkvist is pretty much the lead here, as the movie follows his attempts to get an issue of Millenium out before Lisbeth's trial begins, hopefully exposing the corruption in the government. He and his colleagues at the magazine are attacked and threatened at every turn, while meanwhile Lisbeth attempts to manipulate things to her advantage from inside her hospital room. Eventually, this all leads to a big trial where secrets will be unveiled and justice will prevail. Oh, and Lisbeth's psychotic half-brother (Micke Spreitz), a brute who can't feel pain, is still on the run.

Like the first two films, there are some bright spots amongst the muddled translation here. This installment features one of the most thrilling moments in the series, involving an elderly man committing a pretty wild murder-suicide in the middle of a hospital, and Lisbeth's very riveting and compelling trial, which challenges several areas of Swedish government, law, and society. The movie feels a lot more in tune with its old spy themes than it did with its "on-the-run" theme from the second film, and as a result it's a smidge easier to follow and understand. (Just a smidge though.) One thing I did like was that certain supporting players from earlier movies received more screen time here, and got a few places to really do some good work. Lena Endre gives some much needed heart and levity as Mikhael's Millenium partner Erika Berger, and Annika Hallin pretty much steals the show as his sister, who becomes Lisbeth's lawyer in her case. Last but not least, I found Anders Ahlborn to be a very spot-on Dr. Peter Teleborian, a completely evil child psychologist who abused Lisbeth in the past. All of their screen time is a high point.

Ultimately, most of this film's problems hearken back to the problems in adaptation the first two films had. A lot of stuff detailing Lisbeth and Mikhael's relationship was cut out, and here, this is a problem, as the third film must rely heavily on aspects that the earlier two films never made clear. This is a messy problem, and the movie never lets us really understand anything thoroughly and totally, leaving the story feeling quite cluttered at times. People who have read the book will understand what is going on, but that shouldn't be needed to understand a movie. A film must hold up on its own, and not need prior explanations from its source material. These movies don't do that. They seem to just be summaries, filmed and envisioned like a standard TV show. This never really works as a truly piece of entertaining cinema, and in having to be such a slave to Larsson's heavy material, I don't really know how it could in a normal movie length. Even at 2 and a half hours, things don't quite feel complete.

Many have noted the lack of screen time Lisbeth receives here, and that is much like the book, where Lisbeth was in a hospital bed for pretty much the first third. The movie is merely following the story, but without Rapace's always interesting energy and presence, the movie does suffer, as Nyqvist doesn't seem interested or able to carry the film on his own. The movie hits a truly fun adrenaline peek the minute Rapace steps in, with her Lisbeth strutting down a courtroom hallway with an over-the-top fro-hawk and an outrageous Goth wardrobe (outrageous for court, I mean). The courtroom section of the movie, which takes up most of the end, is the best, since it relies on Rapace more than anything else. Her facial movements, slight smiles, ticks, and line delivery all sell this character beautifully. Although she is not my ideal choice for Lisbeth, Rapace does a great job and is the real reason to see this movie, even if she is barely in it.

I guess, in the end, the series is mandatory viewing for fans of the books. None of these three movies are terrible, but they are all in a different, much lower league than the books. Later this year, David Fincher will give us the English speaking version of the first book, and I'm nervously optimistic. If anyone can make this series work on the big screen, it's Fincher, but once again, this isn't the easiest or most coherent material to adapt. We'll see, though. Until then, we have these three highly flawed movies, which are entertaining enough but never truly satisfy. Watch them for Rapace, but for the story, I'd really just stick to the novels.