The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

When we first see bi computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the final adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy, she’s being transported to a hospital, bloodied almost beyond recognition, the result of a bullet put in her brain by Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov), her barbaric father, at the end of Part 2.

Her pummeled, gore-covered body was a recurring image in the film’s predecessors, but this installment quickly dispenses with the obligatory scenes of its heroine’s traumatized body. It’s instead filled up by a convoluted procedural whose plot hinges on indistinguishable old and middle-aged evil patriarchs in ties and sweater vests.

Remanded to a prison cell in Stockholm after her recovery, Lisbeth awaits trial for the attempted murder of Zalachenko, while her infatuated savior, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), uncovers the vast conspiracy that led to her repeated abuse by the state. That malevolent network committed Lisbeth to a mental institution at age 12 and would now like to return her there for good.

Like the first two movies, this final installment feels thoughtlessly put together, its script unpruned and rushed through, all to capitalize on the staggering worldwide popularity of its dead author.