Whew! It's about time...

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2006)

James Bond (Daniel Craig) must stop a banker, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who finances terrorists, by winning a game of Texas Hold'Em.
There's a lot of good things about this film, and some not so good.
First the not so good. After the "climax", there's a denouement, and another "climax". The second climax felt tacked on, as if the producers knew a building was going to be destroyed, and they thought, how can we fit this into the film? Also, the miniature scenes with the big airplane didn't look so good. After seeing the CGI effects of Spider-Man and the last Star Wars film, this effect comes up short.
Now for the good. The producers go back to the original source material. The last film that came close to using the same plot as the book was probably "Live and Let Die". (Incidents in later films appear throughout the books). This film adheres pretty much to the plot of the novel. Which is a good thing, considering the last film, "Die Another Day", rehashed elements from the other films, esp. the plot from the film "Diamonds Are Forever", and not the book.
The spirit of this film is closer to "Bourne Identity" than DAD. Bond is much much much much more believable than any previous incarnation. After a fight, he breathes hard(!). He gets hurt, physically and emotionally. He makes mistakes. Unlike any of the previous Bond films, where he was a sort of Superman in a tuxedo, when this Bond fights, he -fights-. Not like the 'one punch and it's a knockout' technique of previous movies. That same technique that was parodied so well in the Austin Powers movies where he yells, "Judo Chop!"
And the villain, Le Chiffre, is motivated mostly out of fear. Yes, he's greedy, but that's only a part of the reason why he has to win the big poker game. What a big difference from a megalomaniac trying to take over the world!
I'm so glad the producers got back to the roots and base material. The only problem here is -- where do you go from here? If they continue to keep it in the spirit of the "Bourne Identity", Bond will be around for a long, long time.