'Veronica Mars,' back by popular demand, still charms

She's a TV cult favorite: a latter-day and much hipper Nancy Drew.

Now, seven years after the beloved television series ended, Veronica Mars has her own movie.

Fans of the underrated TV show helped to bankroll the movie with a Kickstarter campaign, an Internet-based crowd-funding effort.

The result is the engaging Veronica Mars (*** of four; rated PG-13; opening Friday in select cities) a film noir detective story that works for both devotees of the series and the uninitiated.

Kristen Bell reprises the sassy sleuth role she played for three TV seasons. She's as sharp, engaging and witty as ever. Maturity has only made her more charming.

Directed by series creator Rob Thomas the film works as a suspense thriller, and also as a gentle send-up of the genre. It's effective as a sequel to the television series and works just as well as a stand-alone film.

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Veronica (Bell) has just graduated from Stanford Law School and seems on her way to an illustrious career at a high-powered New York law firm. She's romantically involved with handsome former boyfriend Stosh 'Piz' Piznarski (Chris Lowell). Things are looking good for Veronica's smooth transition to successful adulthood.

But a shocking murder of a former high school classmate lures her back to the sleepy, corrupt, beach town of Neptune, Calif., much to the chagrin of her loving dad, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni). Formerly the town's sheriff, Keith became a private investigator after being forced out of office by a venal, but powerful, local millionaire. Keith wants nothing more than for Veronica to stay out of Neptune's orbit.

One of the highlights of the series was the affectionate and dryly humorous relationship between father and daughter. That sweet bond, with its fast-paced dialogue, continues to flourish here.

While it seemed her sleuthing days were behind her, Veronica is drawn back into crime-solving.

Her former high school flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is suspected of the murder of their classmate. As the best amateur detective around, Veronica is clearly the ideal candidate to dig up evidence to exonerate him.

Handily, Veronica comes home just in time for her 10-year high school reunion. Soon, she's being pulled back into the life she had tried to leave behind, aided and abetted by her brainy high school pals Cindy 'Mac' Mackenzie (Tina Majorino) and Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III).

Veronica's a feisty heroine and a strong role model for girls. It's certainly been a good year for Bell as an actress, after voicing the spunky younger sister in the massively successful, Oscar-winning Disney animated feature Frozen. Supporting characters in this low-budget feature are believable - with the most well-loved folks from the series making reappearances. The jokes are savvy and the Hitchcock-style thriller aspects draw us in.

Thomas, a novice film director, could have made some scenes more visually intriguing, but he was hampered by a tight shooting schedule and limited budget. Still, the well-paced mystery doesn't suffer from these constraints. His years as a high school teacher serve him well in nailing how teens actually talk, intensified by an extra dose of cleverness.

Veronica's return to her youthful detective avocation and her beachfront hometown is rewarding emotionally for fans - with its inside jokes, show references and winks - but also satisfying for those who aren't familiar with her. Bell was able to pick up right where she left off with the series.

Who says you can't go home again?

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