I'm a fan of this series: I read the books and saw the first two films in this trilogy. I thought the first two films were good, very enjoyable to watch; and generally captured the spirit of the novels.
Hornet's Nest, in contrast, drags on and really butchers the novel. I understand that a book is almost always better than the movie version, and that changes must be made to adapt a book to screen. However, there were changes made for this film, which did not tighten up the story and ended up making the movie quite disjointed. Also, the actors' portrayal of the characters in Hornet's Nest was over the top to the point where they became insufferable and unsympathetic.
Bloomkvist turns into a selfish whiner, rather than the action hero he was in the first two. Salander hardly speaks in this movie, culminating in a finale of silence as she battles the mostly-mute giant. Berger doesn't even need to be in this movie. This is supposed to be a series about feminism, but Berger's only purpose in this movie is to be a whiny, bitter ex-girlfriend who is paralyzed by fear the whole time. We lose all three heroes of the trilogy in favor of smaller characters that aren't developed.
The courtroom scene was absolutely butchered. It is so anti-climactic and poorly done that it ruined the movie for me. This is the big moment, where all of the evidence comes together and the attorney has a shot at a gripping cross-examination scene, but it ends in . . . crickets . . . Reading 50 pages about the trial in the novel would go by quicker than the 20 minutes of the film. There was no tension, nor build-up, and the "gotcha" moment of cross-examination was non-existent.
The movie also fails to properly tie the reporting and publishing of the magazine to the legal drama; they are treated as separate story lines that don't ever come together. This is another deviation from the novel which does not help the movie. I don't understand why they changed the story to have Berger push to halt the publication -- the only result of this twist is that the characters all end up looking weak and it diminishes any reason to cheer for the heroes' magazine that is supposed to be central to the plot (setting Salander free).
Hornet's Nest, in contrast, drags on and really butchers the novel. I understand that a book is almost always better than the movie version, and that changes must be made to adapt a book to screen. However, there were changes made for this film, which did not tighten up the story and ended up making the movie quite disjointed. Also, the actors' portrayal of the characters in Hornet's Nest was over the top to the point where they became insufferable and unsympathetic.
Bloomkvist turns into a selfish whiner, rather than the action hero he was in the first two. Salander hardly speaks in this movie, culminating in a finale of silence as she battles the mostly-mute giant. Berger doesn't even need to be in this movie. This is supposed to be a series about feminism, but Berger's only purpose in this movie is to be a whiny, bitter ex-girlfriend who is paralyzed by fear the whole time. We lose all three heroes of the trilogy in favor of smaller characters that aren't developed.
The courtroom scene was absolutely butchered. It is so anti-climactic and poorly done that it ruined the movie for me. This is the big moment, where all of the evidence comes together and the attorney has a shot at a gripping cross-examination scene, but it ends in . . . crickets . . . Reading 50 pages about the trial in the novel would go by quicker than the 20 minutes of the film. There was no tension, nor build-up, and the "gotcha" moment of cross-examination was non-existent.
The movie also fails to properly tie the reporting and publishing of the magazine to the legal drama; they are treated as separate story lines that don't ever come together. This is another deviation from the novel which does not help the movie. I don't understand why they changed the story to have Berger push to halt the publication -- the only result of this twist is that the characters all end up looking weak and it diminishes any reason to cheer for the heroes' magazine that is supposed to be central to the plot (setting Salander free).