The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest
If The Godfather 3, Alien 3 and Spider-Man 3 taught us anything, it’s that a franchise tends to lose steam by the time it reaches its third instalment. It’s a welcome surprise, then, that the third film in the adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy is pretty damn good.
After the muddled The Girl Who Played With Fire, Daniel Alfredson’s film recaptures the tension that made the first movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so sublime. We catch up with tough-as-nails hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) as she awaits trial for the attempted murder of her father. Trying to clear her name is journalist and friend Mikail Blomkvist (Nyqvist) while Salander’s half-brother and a Swedish intelligence agency are gunning for her.
Despite its flaws – the film is too long and some fringe characters could have been left out – The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest remains gripping thanks to fine performances by Nyqvist and, in particular, Rapace. The climactic scene where Salander confronts her abuser in court is as riveting as anything the franchise has delivered.
4/5
Good for: Those who want to see how it all ends
Watch The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest trailer.
