“A STINGER”
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Anders Ahlbom, and Hans Alfredson
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, some sexual material, and brief language
Genre: Art/Foreign, Thriller and Adaptation
Running Time: 2hrs 28min
Distributed by: Music Box Films
By John Delia
The final chapter of the perils of Lisbeth Salander, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest has come to theatres and it is a stinger. Tying up all the loose ends, giving credence to the first two episodes and adding an explosive ending, the film delivers the final blow. If you have seen the first two films, then this last one will give you closure.
In this last installment we find Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) in a hospital bed fighting for her life. Still intent on bringing an end to what lead her to a sordid life, Lisbeth regains enough strength to stand up to the charges of murder. But, without the evidence needed to find her not guilty, the outcome looks bleak. Coming to her aid once again, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Nyqvist) sets out to clear Salander’s name and help bring down a corrupt government.
Director Daniel Alfredson does an outstanding job of bringing the story to an end by flushing out the dissidents and tying up all the loose ends. With the help of the fine acting of both Noomi Repace and Michael Nyqvist realism and thriller can be used in the same sentence.
Looking back to The Girl Who Played With Fire, the bridge for the trilogy, I can safely say that The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest was the better of Alfredson’s directing. If you glance at the films that represented the two final chapters, however, film 2 was more of a filler with introductions to additional important characters and the attempted murder that are needed for the finale. With Alfredson’s most tedious challenge out of the way, he shows his fine ability of bringing the final searing chapter to the screen.
Although I liked the film trilogy very much, it does have its problems. The fiery relationship between Salander and Blomkvist starts to dwindle in film two and leads to a relationship void in the final film. Also, Salandar’s brother needed more fleshing out as well as Blomkvist’s sister, the lawyer who defended Salander. Finally, I would have liked to know more about the government politics within the story so as to give more credence to the magnitude of the ending.
In rating the final chapter, it gets an A- from this critic. I liked the trial, intrigue and the final thrill ride.  Noomi Repace certainly deservers the most recognition for her work in all three films. Her depiction of the ‘lost’ woman with all her rough edges while still showing us Slander as a sensitive girl reaching out for love and a future is amazing.
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest is rated R for strong violence, some sexual material, and brief language. The film is presented in the Swedish with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (4of 5), The Girl Who Played With Fire (3.5 of 5), The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (4.5 of 5) a very good trilogy that cannot be separated.
Click on the links below for the reviews of Dragon Tattoo and Played With Fire:
https://yeticket.com/2010/07/the-girl-who-played-with-fire-written-review/
https://yeticket.com/2010/04/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-written-review/