The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Luftslottet Som Sprängdes) (2009)

I never got to see the third Lisbeth Salander movie in the art house theater but I just found it available on streaming and watched it last night. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest continues the saga of Lisbeth Salander and provides closure to the riveting events of the movie triad. The danger is less gripping though since Lisbeth spends half her time recuperating in the hospital and half her time in court fighting for justice and freedom (as opposed to fighting for her very life against a string of uber-bad guys in the first two movies). She has a couple confrontations with baddies in this movie but they feel perfunctory and clipped. (I won't compare the books to the movies except to say generally the books tell the story better. I look forward to seeing the American take on these three films; I may complain about the clang-and-clatter- on-steroids of contemporary American thrillers but this film, set in Stockholm and using previously unknown actors just feels -- continental -- like something much closer to The Eye of the Needle than to The Bourne Ultimatum.) In this film Lisbeth's hacking skills are glossed over and the Millennium issue is suddenly published in time for her trial, which is won in less than an hour after carrying in reams of "revised" evidence that no one has had time to read. Like the Harry Potter movies, it is interesting cinema because the books are so much more detailed and entertaining while the movie standing alone seems to be touching bases or ticking off a checklist of scenes. I enjoyed the movie but I wanted it to be more evocative of Lisbeth's dangers and battles. 4.5 stars. (1-27-11 posted 5-30-11)