Mara is superb in the role. She works her metal-studded punk regalia and defiant mohawk just as well as the previous actress, Noomi Rapace, did.

The difference is that Mara is also able to show Lisbeth's vulnerability more effectively than Rapace did. Mara shows us the simmering anger and pain under her shrewd defiance.

Lisbeth and Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) meet in a situation in which they are both damaged, vulnerable fringe-dwellers, but they share tough minds and a sharp intelligence. They create a wary, but powerful emotional unit that rings true and wins out.

Just watching Mara play Lisbeth is worth the ticket price and the film never falters in its pace or narrative plotting.

It's unusual to see a remake of a successful film a mere two years after it was released. The Swedish version made its debut in 2009 and became an international hit, winning eight foreign-language awards.

The 2011 version is a glossy, star-studded Hollywood remake and, to be honest, I was expecting the worst , but I was wrong. It is a compelling film that will keep you glued to the screen for two and a half hours. Even if you have read the book and seen the original film, you will not be disappointed, because an impressive cast of skilled actors give sharp and vivid performances.

Blomkvist is an investigative journalist who loses his job because a corrupt politician traps him into making a serious error. His career is on the skids and he is surprised to get a request from the wealthy Vanger clan, who live on a remote, wintry island in arrogant, feudal splendour.

The family patriarch Henrik (Christopher Plummer) wants Blomkvist to investigate an old family secret. Blomkvist is wary, but he is also broke and unemployed, so he takes on the investigation that drives one of the film's two major plotlines.

The second story-line features Salander, a defiant loner, covered in tattoos and pierced extensively. She is bisexual; she knows how to use drugs, but above all, she is a brilliant investigator.

She has a mind like a steel trap and there is nothing she can't find on her computer. Lisbeth and Mikael are total opposites but, against all odds, they make a fascinating team.

The difference between the Swedish film and the Hollywood version is the style. The Swedish version was directed by Niels Arden Oplev, who was so intent on doing the right thing for the book that he put every little detail on the screen and it made for a somewhat arduous film.

Director David Fincher, who has made bizarre thrillers such as Fight Club, Se7en and Zodiac, clearly had a good idea of what this Hollywood version needed.

This mix of arrogance and cruelty is his forté, and, working with writer Steve Zaillian, he has trimmed the story down into a sleek, focused thriller.

He has ditched a lot of the family intrigues and focused on the mysterious disappearance of a young woman in the Vanger family. Was she murdered? Did she run away from her brutal family? That's the mystery Lisbeth and Mikael have to solve, but each new discovery reveals a new twist and, in the process, both Lisbeth and Mikael are - in a sense - investigating themselves.

The film is shot superbly by cameraman Jeff Cronenweth and his images of this icy environment are beautiful.

There are evocative performances from Joely Richardson as the daughter who turned her back on her family; and Plummer, who gives a performance in which authority and tragic weakness fuse into a complex character. Even though he is not in the film for more than 10 minutes, his presence is resonant.

It's an exceptionally well-made film and Fincher was smart enough to leave Mikael and Lisbeth in a situation that serves as a suitable ending, but also promises that their story is far from over.

My guess is that a sequel is already in pre-production, and that suits me just fine.