The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Waiting, watching, wondering: These words perfectly sum up the first 90 minutes of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," the last in a trilogy based on Stieg Larsson's world-renowned novels, released by Chicago's stellar Music Box Films.

Goth vigilante and abuse survivor Lisbeth Salander (the phenomenal Noomi Rapace) waits, first in a hotel room and then in a jail cell, for a trial that will legally define her competence as a human being. Salandar's friend Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), a journalist who rose from the ashes of notoriety, constantly watches over his shoulder for the individuals who protected Lisbeth's deadly criminal father, persecuted Lisbeth into submission and are now gunning for him as well. And everyone, from Mikael's girlfriend-slash-colleague to authorities both corrupt and honest, wonders what deadly danger lies around the corner.

I wouldn't recommend watching any of the Millenium trilogy films — "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "The Girl Who Played With Fire" or "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" — without first thoroughly reading the books of the same name. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of older men in gray suits, some good and some bad, with motivations and histories all their own. Also, the production values aren't great: If the Internet is to be believed, the last two films in the trilogy were made for television.

However, for fans of the late Larsson's unforgettable characters, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is a profound period at the end of a long, complicated, fascinating sentence. Rapace remains a revelation; her Salander takes down burly bullies without a second thought, but is touched by the simple kindness of a gifted book or a midnight pizza. Anyone who argues the Salander of the books is less than fully real obviously hasn't seen Rapace, who brings heart and spirit to a young woman self-trained as a hacking killing machine.

Sparse special features include a theatrical trailer and subtitles.

Film: 4 Yaps Extras: 1 Yap