Best Bond

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2006)

This is to the spy genre what the Spiderman movies are to the super-hero genre. Or even like "Batman Begins." This maybe the best Bond movie. Daniel Craig is excellent at Bond in acting and action. This Bond actually has some great fighting moves that the typical martial arts movie lacks--the moves look real. And Craig definitely looks like he could hold his own in a real fight. The pace of the movie is steady but not frantic. Having said that, there are lots of great fast moving scenes. The gadgets in this movie actually are real life types of things for the most part--no bizarre jet packs for no apparent reason here. These gadgets blend in to Bond's mission and do not stand out as gadgets for their own sake. There is also a dark side to the movie as human life actually seems to have dignity and people aren't killed for the sake of killing. There are many killings though, but there are reactions to their deaths and some level of accountability. This Bond lacks camp--which is a good thing to lack. Some of the other Bonds were similar to the 60's Batman series. This movie shows the dirty nature of his work and the grit of his world. However, he doesn't have the total unreal relationships with women like previous Bond movies--those in which Bond has a new woman every 15 minutes. There is a small point that seems to drag a bit. But then it picks up the pace again. I was hungry when I saw the movie so I got a bit antsy in that part. I was soon rewarded for my brief patience. The locations also add to the effectiveness of the movie. The atmosphere of the Casino Royale drew the audience in to the scene. It was as if we were all there in the casino. There are many other locations and all of them are well selected. Don't wait for the DVD--the sites and sounds are magnificent on the big screen.