Director: Daniel Alfredson.
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Georgi Staykov, Erika Berger, Annika Hallin, Anders Ahlbom, Jacob Ericksson, Micke Spreitz, Mirja Turestedt
Rating: (R16)
3 stars (out of 5)
Be warned: if you are not plugged into Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest will be very confusing.
It's certainly advantageous to remember where The Girl Who Played with Fire ended.
This is tighter and has more narrative focus than film two, but director Daniel Alfredson fails to harness the visual style and character chemistry that captured attention in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, in which a relatively straightforward detective plot was transformed by the curious relationship between the leads.
So seldom do Blomkvist and Salander appear in the same frame here, it's like the film was cobbled together from previous shoots.
From the moment Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) wakes up in hospital, the quest is quite clear.
She needs to beat her murder rap and expose those involved in a sinister police network.
The mission should be great cinematic fodder but as strange names and bit-part characters flood the screen, there are too many levels of intrigue.
Languid, lacking focus and trying to be a little too clever, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is a gilt-edged opportunity squandered.
The plot gets bogged down with too many investigative facts that will never supplant good old-fashioned suspense and Salander doing what she does best, outsmarting the baddies.
Best thing: Salander's Vivienne-Westwood-meets-Marilyn-Manson courtroom attire.
Worst thing: Sidelining your star player in a hospital bed with barely a line of dialogue. It's like playing the World Cup final without Dan Carter.
See it with: Anyone frustrated at the unsatisfying conclusion of film two.
- Martk Orton
