Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - B

On DVD (2010). Rated R, 147 minutes. Trailer.


The film version of the last of Stieg Larsson's compelling Millenium trilogy is a workable extension of its captivating predecessors The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (B+) and The Girl Who Played With Fire (B). Noomi Rapace is back as the defiant and Lisbeth Salander, battered and bloodied from the intense battle at the end of Fire. The tense pacing and victimization themes are back along with the exquisitely understated film score. This film (and series) is an entertaining and tense "popcorn" film, with just enough substance and character development to keep a discriminating viewer interested. Click below for more on TGWKTHN:

Spoilers below:

The film picks up right where Fire left off, with Lisbeth and her father being airlifted to a Stockholm hospital for treatment. The aftermath of their bloody battle has left the authorities no choice but to put them both on trial for attempted murder of eachother. The prospect of a trial and related testimony is not acceptable to the shadowy group that has abused Lisbeth and protected Zalachenko, and they take predictably drastic measures to avoid the trial. Once we get to trial, there are lots of cathartic moments and Rapace's Salander continues to dazzle with very little dialogue.

The Millenium magazine crew is all excellent as before, and the new characters (especially the protective Dr. Anders and Prosecutro Ekstrom) are interesting and meaningful. The film wraps up most of the trilogy and leaves a little to be desired - I was hoping for an ambiguous or meaningful ending rather than a wimper, but it was not to be.

These films are great diversions and have been a squirmy pleasure to watch - I can't wait for David Fincher's version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, out this Christmas.

1 comment:

Doctor said...

I loved the first one (A-, almost A) which was an actual mystery that was brilliantly figured out by the Salander and Blomkvist. It was thematically focused (crimes against women) and consistently exciting. Rather than expanding like the Harry Potter 7 films, the last 2 Salander films could have been easily condensed since there's much more plot in the first than parts 2 and 3 combined. The main problem with the third one is that Salander is cooped up (either in the hospital or jail) for nearly the entire film. She needs to be out there investigating and beating dudes up. I agree with the B grades of parts 2 and 3 since they're still good and involving. Just disappointing.