As this film, the final installment in the Millennium trilogy, begins, (SPOILERS AHEAD) Lisbeth Salander is in a hospital, recovering from the bullet in the head she got at the end of part II. Soon her father (the Ukrainian mobster who tried to kill her) is dead, but nevertheless she remains on the run from his minions, especially the blond monster of the second part who here is shockingly revealed to be her half brother. One could argue that the Millennium trilogy is a metaphor or indictment of the rottenness of Swedish society, but if the first movie worked (the best in the trilogy by a long shot) was as a very exciting action movie with a compelling mystery. If that first part was a great, gripping film, Millennium II was unpleasant, disjointed and confusing. Millennium III give us the loose ends in the first two parts, and is much better than II, though not up to the first movie. It can be confusing at the start, and for much of the running time it has the look of a condensed miniseries, as if several hours were resumed in two and a half. Also, I found that the long trial scene, while explaining much of Lisbeth's motivations, was a drag to watch. Fortunately, the final fifteen minutes make a very satisfying end to the trilogy. One reason the final two installments were not up to the first is that they were shot by a different director: Niels Oplev is clearly a much better director than Daniel Alfredson. But the ending redeems this movie, making it worthwhile to see.
Final installment of Millennium trilogy not up to first episode but still worthwhile seeing and with a great ending
22 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers