The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes)

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace are back for the final installment of the Larsson/Millennium Trilogy. Stieg  Larsson’s thrill-packed novels have come across so well on screen that even Michael Crichton would feel pangs of jealousy. His trilogy is about the mistreatment of women and their capacity to lawfully vindicate themselves through their intelligence, craftiness and the power of their minds. After I finished reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest I felt profoundly sad. Had the author lived he could have written more than a dozen novels starring Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist and I would have eagerly read every one of them. The characters invented by Larsson are so vivid and courageous and magnificently complicated that readers around the world salivated during the hiatus between the releases of the sequels. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is the movie among the three that least adheres to the storyline of the Millennium books but somehow it delivers a tour de force film that is nothing short of spellbinding and mesmerizing.    

     Our story (the film’s plotline) begins with Lisbeth confined to a hospital bed after being shot three times including a bullet being embedded in her skull. Her dashing doctor Jonasson (Aksel Morisse) removes the bullet from nearby her brain tissue and bandages her skull for bed rest. Though admittedly not a first rate heart surgeon (the visiting surgeon showed up intoxicated and offered only minor instructions), Johansson executed the bullet removal procedure perfectly. Lisbeth, over a period of weeks, demonstrates no sign of brain damage and she is able after a period to begin calisthenics to retrain her body. Unfortunately, she is at first not alone in the hospital as her sinister political turncoat/defector father (Zalachenko) has survived. This causes the Zalachenko group (full of SIS agents, diabolical guardians, and gangster-esque secret operatives) to scramble for a solution to their ultimate problem; the possibility that the media would report on their nefarious activities and destroy Sweden’s reputation in the international community.

     While Mikael begins preparing Salander’s story, and she remains in the hospital recovering, a whirlwind of action occurs. His sister decides to represent Salander, offering him access to his former lover in dramatic yet deliberately removed style. At all times Lisbeth’s life is placed in jeopardy as her enemies swarm toward her. Dr. Peter Teleborian conspires to have her re-admitted to his psychiatric facility to torture her physically and psychologically. The police begin investigating the truth behind the Zalachenko group’s conspiracies. Another group of government officials is formed and they work hand-in-hand with Mikke. Meanwhile, Niedermann goes on a murderous spree hell-bent on taking revenge on his half-sister for what are wickedly sociopathic reasons. Rather than spoil everything, I will suggest you read the entire trilogy. If not, at least enjoy the movies before they will be tarnished at the avaristic hands of Hollywood executives.

     While as a standard I disapprove of films adaptations deviating from the novels they are supposed to be based on, I understand why the producers, writers and directors have gone in this direction with Hornet’s Nest. To be kind would be to say the first half of Larsson’s last novel is exciting and exudes the essence of action. It is not. The first half of Hornet’s Nest reads like an encyclopedic version of an international spy thriller rather than like an espionage thriller itself. The author sort of hit the reset button to acquaint readers with the history of all things Zalachenko and the Swedish secret service. In doing so the storyline becomes difficult to trudge through and all plot points seem convoluted. Fortunately, near the halfway mark we are treated to an abrupt transition, a la screeching tires, as events unfold quickly and at a fever pitch. This is precisely the reason why portions of the original story have been modified or excluded. For instance, Erika Berger’s character left Millennium to work as the editor-in-chief for a much large publication in the novel. This leads to her being seriously harassed and her life being threatened by a deranged co-worker. In addition, she and Blomkvist have a serious estrangement over his burgeoning love affair with Inspector Figuerola (Mirja Turestedt). Neither of these two major storyline developments is acknowledged in the movie. Instead, more emphasis is placed on the heroic journalist’s desire to set Lisbeth free as a token of appreciation for having saved his life. Even her influential mentor Holger Palmgren is ignored. Nevertheless, all of the changes (many of which I am excluding as well) work perfectly. I am sure that many readers prefer to have Blomkvist rekindle some sort of a romantic relationship with Lisbeth rather than with a new lover that did not take center stage in the first two films or novels.

     Portions of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest once again left me momentarily breathless. The infamous machine gun scene is orchestrated exceptionally well. Rapace’s character remains true to her core by dressing in a full gothic attire in the courtroom and by maintaining her silence until absolutely necessary. The correct application of her rape video serves as a crucial instrument of justice instead of a reminder of her grief and the sadistic cruelty of hateful chauvinists. Lisbeth’s revenge on Ronald Niedermann is also handled faultlessly. The suspense will kill many viewers. Even having read the books I feared for her life many times. Exclusions aside, I will miss the Millennium Trilogy, both the novels and the movies. The fact that American remakes will be made of these pictures is a testament to Hollywood’s insistence to make a cheap dollar off the brilliant work of others and in a way to the greatness of what Rapace, Nyqvist and company have accomplished. There is not a single dull moment and I predict nobody will leave the theater disappointed. Girl power, long live superwoman!