The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Film 30/50

@MBlomkvist can u lend me ur copy of "the notebook"? #imissmydad

They took some liberties translating the third book into a movie. Not that they didn't do that with the other two films. But this one resembled the book not unlike how Demi Moore's version of The Scarlet Letter (1995) "captured" the spirit of the Hawthorne classic. By that, I mean, not at all.

Once again, we find ourselves rooting for everyone's favorite anti-socialite as she and her mohawk struggle against the forces of all that is evil, giant, and blond and/or bureaucratic and red-tapey. The movie follows the book in the sense that it starts up right where the last one left us: watching Salander recover in the hospital as Blomkvist works on his investigation in the name of journalism.

RANDOM SIDE NOTE/CONFESSION:
I have absolutely no rational explanation for this, but while reading the book I had pictured Salander's doctor as Reid Scott, regardless of the fact that his name was Dr. Anders Johansson. I blame the low-grade fever I've been running.

Minus the slight shock that her doctor was in fact Swedish and a few slight tweaks to the storyline, the majority of the hospital scenes run inline with the book. Where the film and the novel diverge involves pretty much everything else. First, Blomkvist. As the Nyqvist version of the reporter has eliminated all aspects of his intense womanizing and man-whoring, we are left watching Sweden's Sexiest Man (Seriously? There aren't any Swedish men sexier than Nyqvist?) playing the hero whose only character flaw is his diehard need to save Salander. Then there's Berger. Fortunately for us, they've eliminated her job change subplot (Good thinking, screenplay writers!) yet kept the bizarre email threats (What the hell were you thinking, screenplay writers?!).

But the alteration that truly bothered me came with the trial scene. The book had this great "stick-it-to-the-man" mentality that the movie egregiously lacked. As I mentioned in my book review, my entire understanding of the Swedish judicial system is based around the Trial of Lisbeth Salander. Maybe the book didn't have it right, so the movie adjusted to make it more real? If so, Law & Order: SIS may not live up to the hype. This trial was boring, didn't follow the book well, and was boring. Did I mention it was boring?

And then the very end! What was up with that, Nyqvist? Seriously. Why couldn't you guys just follow the book?

But the question that I really wanted answered, now having completed my screening of the Swedish film series...What is up with doors in Sweden?! They open weird. How are you supposed to slam a door on someone's face with them hinged that way? I'm pretty sure that chair-lodged-under-the-doorknob trick during the hospital shootout would not have actually worked with the doors set up that fashion. Maybe I should contact MythBusters on this one?

Ah well. This series comes to a close. Now we wait for Daniel Craig to catch up. But he's too busy playing James Bond right now to worry about that...