The Positively Positive

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Review – a guest post by Sarah Harris

If you haven’t seen the first two movies in this franchise based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novels (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire) I give you fair warning that there are spoilers in this review. I urge you to go out and see the movies post haste! You should be aware that there is definitely adult content, but the Millennium Trilogy may just be the best thing to come out of Sweden since ABBA Gold (20 million copies of the books sold in 41 countries…not too shabby). If you pay any attention to media hype, then you have no doubt heard about the search for the lucky actress to play heroine Lisbeth Salander in the American retooling of this series that has become a big hit internationally. A diverse array of starlets lined up to nab the spot that was ultimately given to relatively unknown Rooney Mara, and anyone who’s into the franchise is probably very interested to see how the stateside versions pan out. Until then, the Swedish films are pure gold.

So, the third (and final) movie starts up just where the second left off, with the titular girl (Salander, played by dark-eyed, tight-lipped tour de force Noomi Rapace) being airlifted to the hospital following repeated gunshot wounds (one to the noggin). Her hulking half-brother is on the run, her hated father is still alive despite the fact that she buried an axe in his head (in fact, he gets the room down the hall), and her only real friend, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is once again doing his best to keep her out of trouble by hiring his sister to be her attorney. Throw in a secret government agency that wants to hush up the whole affair (including Salander), a trail of corruption that leads back to a now-respectable psychologist (who would love to see Lisbeth back in his care), a hulking blond giant with revenge on his mind, and a DVD from the first movie (that most of us wish we could scrub from our brains) and you have the basic elements that make up this thrilling conclusion to the series.

But there’s a lot more to this film than espionage, shady governmental goings-on, and a girl who stuck her big black boot in the whole affair. Everything about this series is stark, unsettling, and completely riveting, a trifecta of suspense that doesn’t let up in the cumulative finale. The production value has definitely improved since the first film, with better camera-work (the bird’s-eye-view shots are fantastic), a keen eye for lighting (from the blue tint of Salander’s practically sterile apartment to the fluorescent glare in the courtroom, each location is expertly lit for effect), and actors who now own the skin they’re playing in. While Rapace has BEEN Salander since the first scene, it definitely took Nyqvist a bit longer to become comfortable as exposé journalist Blomkvist. But in the last installment, he finally seems to have moved beyond the bumbling persona and melted into the thoughtful and sometimes sheepish demeanor of the character.

In short, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is a perfect culmination to an excellent series of films. The genre is not original, but in the hands of these actors, the plotlines feel new and exciting. The characters are not only compelling and complex, but even in their heightened state of tension, they beg to be accepted, to be believed, to get their day in the sun. And the film delivers more than just a couple of hours of entertainment. It wraps the audience in a world of overwhelming treachery and vengeance to be sure, but it spikes its gritty resolve with just a dose of hope, a pinch of fragility, and a sprinkle of humanity to let viewers know that despite the hardships this girl has suffered and the brutality she has dealt in kind, there is redemption for all of us, and maybe even a shot at a new life on the other side of tragedy.

Sarah Harris writes for Adiamor Engagement Rings where you can find a large assortment of engagement ring settings, loose diamonds, and other fine diamond jewelry.