Review of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009) by Justin M — 16 Feb 2011

The late Stieg Larsson's trilogy of books comes to a close for the big screen in this final chapter. It's a talky yet satisfying conclusion to Lisbeth Salander's epic odyssey, weaving together the loose ends of the series into a modestly compelling thriller that is part conspiracy puzzle, big government cover-up mystery, and tense courtroom drama.

It's got the same director as the second film (Daniel Alfredson), and he keeps that film's brisk pace here even as he opts for less action flourishes. But as in the first two films, it's the two characters at the center of this story and the actors who play them that keep us riveted.

Since day one Noomi Rapace has effortlessly portrayed the cryptic, damaged, brittle, brilliant and resourceful Lisbeth, the punk hacker with an awful childhood who has become the target of a scandal that has the entire country of Sweden caught up in it.

Michael Nyqvist is the absorbing everyman presence, wearing his heart on his sleeve and finding himself and his jounalist collegues in legitimate danger as he relentlessly goes about proving Lisbeth's innocence.

The final scene is terribly anti-climactic, and in the whole scheme of the series it is the lesser of the three--not as wonderfully engrossing as the original yet not as grippingly exciting as the second movie.

But it doesn't embarrass those fine films, and the trilogy, taken as a whole, has been a most entertaining, superbly acted, and tantilizing tale told with realistic touches and stock thriller devices.

It's been a great ride, and getting involved in these characters' fascinating lives has been one of the greatest movie going pleasures in recent memory.