So it seems appropriate that Daniel Craig, Mr. Bond himself, stars as Mikael in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Here he plays a far departure from a secret agent man with all the answers. He's an old-school journalist lost in the middle of a complex investigation. Lisbeth (Rooney Mara) is the young, rebellious hacker who saves his butt. She's not suave, not leading the sexiest of lives, but she's one tough cookie. And always smarter than anyone gives her credit for.

I've now spent quite a bit of time with Lisbeth. Having seen the original "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy in Swedish, I was curious how it would feel to return back to the beginning, to start it all again. It's a testament to how three-dimensional a creation Lisbeth is that I found myself engrossed all over again.

To summarize a shockingly dense plot to a simple paragraph: There are two stories in "Dragon Tattoo" that intersect. The first involves Mikael, a disgraced investigative journalist who has been hired by industrialist Henrik (Christopher Plummer) to solve the mystery of a female family member who was killed decades ago. It's a whodunit, in the most classic sense.

Lisbeth, meanwhile, is a fiery ward of the state - deemed unstable by the Swedish government after attacking her father. There are signs of abuse here, first allusions to familial violence and then visual proof (in the form of a devastating rape sequence) that her state-appointed caretakers are assaulting her. By the time she is approached by Mikael for her help, in hunting down a serial killer of women, she takes the mission personally.

Of course, it's not just about the case. Together, these personalities - the over-the-hill journalist and the societal outcast - represent two of the most exciting detectives in recent memory. They aren't young hunks in trench coats. They are flawed, confused antiheroes. And they find in each other an emotional companion - he appreciates her smart confidence and she values his loyalty and conviction.

We stay glued to this smartly paced thriller for their hearts, but the driving force here is an investigation that is at once dense and confounding, but utterly understandable. This is where David Fincher's "Dragon Tattoo" exists on par with the Swedish version. Through every twist and turn, backstab and double-cross, we are able to observe this jigsaw puzzle through the eyes of the investigators. Meticulously plotted, avoiding all short cuts or false loops, this marks as riveting a suspense thriller as we have seen in some time.

As the plot gets tangled, so do their emotions, and the fact that we come to care immensely not just about Lisbeth and Mikael's objective, but about the hearts behind the hunt, means this is a mystery that actually matters.

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