Bloody, muddy Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace): the unstoppable force of Stieg Larsson's trilogy is as soaked in her own blood as a scream queen in the opening moments of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the sticky fluid caked with dirt from the grave she's crawled out of after being shot and left for dead by her corrupt, abusive father Alexander Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov). Lisbeth is found by Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and airlifted to a hospital only after she's cornered her evil papa in a barn and put an axe in his skull. Given Larsson's penchant for horrific, operatic violence, the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo might have opted for a Quentin Tarantino instead of director David Fincher, who's filming an English-language version in Sweden.

But Daniel Alfredson, who also directed The Girl Who Played With Fire, knows just how to balance the highbrow and lowbrow aspects of Larsson's immensely popular prose and he's working with the best adaptation thus far, written by Ulf Rydberg (Bekännelsen). Lisbeth's situation is a bloody mess in more ways than one: not only are her injuries serious enough to warrant several months under medical supervision, but her campaign to expose Zalachenko's true identity (and numerous crimes) have drawn the attention of his powerful handlers, a stealth unit within the Swedish bureaucracy dubbed the Section. Having been responsible for committing a then 12-year-old Salander to a mental institution, these spies have no qualms about quieting her for good, all in the name of national security.

Rydberg excels at boiling down Larsson's complex conspiracy tale to its most human elements. In a few swift strokes, he shows the Section's senior agents as vulnerable old men more concerned with their legacy than the havoc wreaked by reckless decisions made in the heat of the Cold War. When Evert Gullberg (Hans Alfredson) visits Fredrik Clinton (Lennart Hjulström), they seem like nothing more than frail retirees complaining that their successors aren't as hard-working and thick-skinned as they were in their prime. These may be functionaries, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous and even lethal; charged with perpetuating their own existence within a governmental structure barely aware of them, the Section is an entrenched rogue organization used to making their own rules.

Throughout the Millennium trilogy, Stieg Larsson repeatedly returns to the belief that corruption is endemic in the power structures of Sweden, and that secrets — no matter how shocking or brutal — need to be seen in the harsh light of day. This third novel, released in the U.S. last May, is called Luftslottet som sprängdes in Swedish. This translates literally as "the air castle that blew," which may explain why English language publishers opted for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The phrase "building castles in the air" refers to daydreams and being immersed in imagination, but in the case of the Section it's a complex construct used to ensnare and subdue the defiant daughter of valuable espionage asset. Larsson blows this structure away with a strong gust of the cold, hard truth.

As a novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is very much a continuation of the larger story and isn't independent of the other books: there are too many references to what has already transpired, from the relationship that developed between investigator Salander and journalist Blomkvist as they reopened a cold case in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (when the tough-as-nails waif saved his life), to Mikael becoming Lisbeth's vocal defender after she's charged with murder in The Girl Who Played With Fire, when much of her tangled backstory is revealed. But Hornet's Nest also contains some elements drawn from spy novels and courtroom thrillers, and the filmmakers use these genre conventions to streamline the novel and keep the central story moving briskly along.

Alfredson juggles three intersecting narratives with aplomb, always making sure that they remain distinct while revealing how everyone's actions affect the outcome. The Section's elaborate efforts to keep the lid on Zalachenko's story — a Russian defector whose sadistic transgressions were covered up by officials — are led by Clinton, who reassumes the mantle of leadership despite declining health, and Gullberg, who takes it upon himself to embark on one last do or die mission. Blomkvist rallies the skeleton staff of Millennium to devote an entire issue to the injustices perpetrated against Salander with revelations about the Section as their headline-grabbing hook, but publisher Erika Berger (Lena Endre) becomes increasingly wary as the magazine faces a nasty campaign of intimidation.

Meanwhile, the focus of everyone's efforts in Stockholm lies in a Göteborg hospital making a slow, painful recovery under the protective care of Dr. Anders Jonasson (Aksel Morisse), who's fascinated by this notorious survivor of a bullet to the head. Lisbeth Salander's willpower is the secret ingredient of Stieg Larsson's trilogy; that determination to not only survive, but live the way she wants is what makes her so compelling a character. Even at her most vulnerable, there's an intractable determination to maintain her individuality — her otherness — within a society that prizes comfortable conformity. That first primal image of Salander is brief, but it's valuable to remember during Hornet's Nest. Lisbeth will not be buried in an unmarked grave, and when she chooses to speak, it will be on her own terms.

Intractable with her lawyer, Mikael's sister Annika Giannini (Annika Hallin), and meeting police and prosecutor with stony silence, Salander seems determined to let all negative preconceptions stand. It's Blomkvist's relentless, tireless pursuit of her story that provides Salander the tools to defend herself within the same legal system that was once manipulated to not only institutionalize her, but have Lisbeth declared mentally incompetent and in need of a permanent guardian. When focusing on Blomkvist, the filmmakers don't deny his intense feelings for Salander, but they also show how his constant need to be at the center of a big, earth-shattering story only adds to his fervor. If Salander's abuse weren't tied to the grand machinations of Swedish corruption, would he care quite so much?

Michael Nyqvist's performance in Hornet's Nest really displays Blomkvist's ego and selfishness, attributes journalist turned author Larsson seemed careful to keep in check. Even though the films have cut so much out — the dense plots and large casts would take a television miniseries for each book to be fully played out — stellar actors like Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace have added new layers to their characters over the course of three films. Nyqvist isn't afraid to display that prickliness when Blomkvist is in his element, and Rapace adds a punk petulance and flashes of satisfied humor to her asocial hacker. Even small roles can have an impact, like Morisse's sharply observant surgeon, or Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl as the supremely oily Dr. Peter Teleborian, Lisbeth's childhood tormentor.

There are other great characters — like Salander's former boss Dragan Armanskij and her beloved guardian Holger Palmgren — whose roles have been so reduced that they barely make an impact. In an otherwise astute adaptation, Erika Berger, who has been relegated to the sidelines in all the films, gets a major disservice. As co-founder with Blomkvist of the muckraking Millennium, Berger is a professional equal who shares his ideals and determination. (Erika's also been Mikael's on-and-off lover for decades.) In the novel Hornet's Nest, she's a powerful media figure who's recruited as editor of a major Swedish newspaper. Ulf Rydberg has her retreating at the first sign of trouble, a major reversal of Larsson's vision of a woman who, in her own fashion, is as defiant and intelligent as Salander.

For all his sophistication, there's a bracing naïveté to Stieg Larsson's stories: he creates very clear-cut heroes and villains, and even some absolute monsters, like Lisbeth's half-brother Ronald Niedermann (Mikael Spreitz), who keeps popping up in Hornet's Nest like a restless zombie. Daniel Alfredson shifts effortlessly between the cabal gathering to crush Salander, the group coalescing to save her led by Blomkvist and Giannini (a soft-spoken hard-hitter in the courtroom), and Lisbeth herself, who's mute through much of the film. Again, Noomi Rapace is utterly irreplaceable. Alfredson allows Rapace to pull the viewer in with her ferocious silence and contained strength, and it's a more fruitful collaboration than the restless search for a proper footing in The Girl Who Played With Fire.

There are some bumps in an otherwise smooth adaptation, such as Salander being tried only for the attempted murder of Zalachenko. No information is given as to why the previous murder charges have been dropped, even after the nationwide chase. Also, round-the-clock surveillance of the Millennium offices suddenly stops during a crucial plot point. Overall, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is both compelling and satisfying, driving characters fueled by self-preservation out of their comfort zone and into uncharted territory. Stieg Larsson set up the grand destinations of justice and redemption, but Daniel Alfredson sees people instead of archetypes. After all the revelations and upheaval, and too many brushes with death, he offers Lisbeth Salander a modicum of inner peace.

© 2010, Serena Donadoni. All rights reserved.

Director: Daniel Alfredson | Writer: Ulf Rydberg | Adapted from the novel The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson | Cinematography: Peter Mokrosinski | Music: Jacob Groth | Production Design: Maria Håård and Jan-Olof Ågren | Costume Design: Cilla Rörby | Editing: Håkan Karlsson | Producer: Søren Stærmose | Released by Music Box Films | Running time: 148 minutes | Rated R | In Swedish with English subtitles.

Cast: Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander), Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist), Annika Hallin (Annika Giannini), Lena Endre (Erika Berger), Jacob Ericksson (Christer Malm), Sofia Ledarp (Malin Eriksson), Aksel Morisse (Dr. Anders Jonasson), Niklas Hjulström (Richard Ekström), Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl (Dr. Peter Teleborian), Hans Alfredson (Evert Gullberg), Lennart Hjulström (Fredrik Clinton), Johan Holmberg (Jonas Sandberg), Carl-Åke Eriksson (Bengt Janeryd), Mirja Turestedt (Monica Figuerola), Niklas Falk (Torsten Edklinth), Tomas Köhler (Plague), Georgi Staykov (Alexander Zalachenko aka Karl Axel Bodin), Mikael Spreitz (Ronald Niedermann), Michalis Koutsogiannakis (Dragan Armanskij), Magnus Krepper (Hans Faste), and Pelle Bolander (Sonny Nieminen).