The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

 This is the film I really wanted to see over Tangled. I saw this at the 7.45 p.m session. The same woman who sold me the Tangled ticket and called me 'a big kid' commented on how completely different these two films are. An obvious observation but I knew what she was saying.

 Well there isn't alot I can say or add to the world wide phenomenon that Stieg Larsson's books and their film adaptations have become.  But I will say this right now. I think it is completely pointless, and somewhat de-grading, re-making these films into English. I'm afarid it yet again hightlights, for me, people's prejudice with foreign language films. What really gets me is they are Swedish so what better country and language to see them in? It de-bases the originals to squeeze more money out of the series.
 For me I don't think I'll bother going to see an English language re-make. It is aimed at a market that can't and won't appreciate the originals, and if you can't appreciate the originals because of the sub-titles then, as far as I'm concerned, you are not a true lover of cinema.
 Enough of that! Is it any good? I have read all three books and consider the first one the best of them. And I feel that way about the films because of this. I have heard many people say the second book and hence movie are not worth reading and seeing. This is bizzare thinking to me. It is a triology. Lord of the Rings is also a trilolgy, are not all three books worth reading? For me it disturbs a plot to not read a second book or see the film. And anyone who has read the books realises there are so many sub-plots going on that they had to be considerably condensed and cut outright from the film versions. This is to make the movies a comfortable length. Hornet's Nest is the longest of the three. Necessarily so, but it is still right and for me does justice to the book. 
 Too often book adaptations butcher a story or are so far from the book as to have the title and nothing else. The Millenium trilogy aren't complicated books despite sub-plots and a raft of characters. I think all three films followed the books extremely well with a small amount of fiddling to ensure scene and plot continuity. This makes the films satisfying as I personally dislike a movie that doesn't attempt to follow the book. Making a movie from a book is difficult. but a good script writer who shows some care can do it. The writers of the Millenium movies have got it right in my opinion.
 Noomi Rapace as Salander is a marvel. She gets inside the character so well. Nyqvist, like Rapace 'is' Blomqvist. I believe Nyqvist to be a very fine actor. He continuously shows that good acting does not come from English speaking countries alone. See him in 'As it is in Heaven' which is just a wonderful film. It is the film that brought him to the world's attention. The rest of the cast is good. The producers have done well to cast actors who resemble the books characters. For instance Salander's half brother is a huge blond man in the book, and the actor in the movie is the same. Things like that lift book adaptions. 
 Overall it is somewhat difficult to rate this film as a stand alone movie because it is part of a trilogy. All three must be seen and judged as a whole. For me these films are faithful to the books, and are some of the best adaptations I have seen. My advice is see the Swedish originals and don't bother with the re-makes. And if you haven't read the books I recommend you do so first as you'll get more out of the films for having done so. Stieg Larsson has created a unique female character in Lisbeth Salander and the three films do justice to his creation.
 Believe the hype and don't miss them or the books!!! 
Click here for a synopsis:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343097/