Movie: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes) (2009)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes) (2009) is a Swedish crime thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international best-selling novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.

This is the third movie in the Millennium series:
 
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) (2009)
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden) (2009)

Note: This movie is not to be mistaken with the American version of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, which is planned for release in 2013.

Synopsis: Due to multiple wounds from gunshots including a head shot, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is put under close supervision in a hospital and is set to face trial for attempted murder after she recovers. It's now up to journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), his co-workers at Millennium magazine, and Mikael's sister Annika (Annika Hallin) to prove her innocence and bring the conspirators against her to justice. In doing this she plays against powerful enemies from her past and everyone soon find themselves in grave danger.

Again, you'll need to watch the two prequels to understand the storyline of this movie and its complex background. The first two movies are fast-paced and their full 2.5 hours are fueled with adrenaline, i.e. intense, dramatic, and brutal actions, especially abusive and humiliating acts against women. This third movie is somewhat slower and it's mostly serious courtroom drama that ends as good as expected.

For the third time, kudos to Noomi Rapace who plays a convincingly misunderstood Lisbeth Salander. The rest of the cast is very impressive but Noomi Rapace is the most outstanding element in all three movies. She brings a great sense of realism to Lisbeth's character - a fragile, damaged, and misunderstood, yet strong-willed girl who fights for justice. As the story unfolds, we believe and might be aware there are women out there who have had their lives ruined permanently or semi-permanently by "authorities".

Definitely a must-watch movie, i.e. one that gives you the sense of satisfaction derived from watching award-winning-worthy movies minus Hollywood's bling-bling and bullshit.