Four years after the franchise hit a new low, they more than made up for it!

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2008)

For a long time, the James Bond movie franchise was known for featuring lots of gadgets and sometimes other elements of fantasy. However, four years after they took it too far in 2002's "Die Another Day", Pierce Brosnan's final outing as Bond, the franchise went in a very different direction with Daniel Craig as the new Bond! With this modern day adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, they took a more realistic approach. This has obviously disappointed some viewers who are used to the usual formula in the movies, but if you ask me, after "Die Another Day", it was probably time for a change!
When James Bond accomplishes his second killing, he earns 00 status from MI6, and becomes Agent 007. On his first mission as a 00 agent, he goes to Madagascar and pursues a bomb maker named Mollaka, leading to a chase which ends at the Nambutu Embassy! Here, Bond kills Mollaka and escapes with his cell phone, which currently has a message from Alex Dimitrios, who happens to be an associate of a banker for terrorists named Le Chiffre! Eventually, it is discovered that Le Chiffre plans to have a poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro so he can pay off his debts. 007 is sent to participate in this tournament and try to defeat him, but much mayhem awaits!
This 21st official Bond film starts out with a black and white pre-title sequence (not like any of the previous ones), showing both of Bond's killings before he becomes a 00 agent! This is a memorable and exciting sequence, and I think it looks good in black and white! After the title sequence, a lot of excitement follows, including the chase in Madagascar, part of which takes place high above the ground, a truck chase, and many more. Also, the romantic scenes here are definitely better than the ones in some of the previous Bond films. Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond is different from the usual, as he is less suave and more of a thug. Although I haven't read any of the books, I am told that's what the character is like in them, and I would say Craig puts on an excellent performance in this film, really showing his acting skills! Being more realistic, there aren't too many gadgets in this film, and unlike many other Bond films, there isn't that much humour here (a little, but not much). However, with all the suspense (yes, I found a LOT of tension here, with the memorable action sequences and such), as well as decent romantic scenes and more depth than usual, I don't think that matters!
The only other Bond film I've rated as high as this one is "Goldfinger", but this one might be even better than that! I'm not really sure, since the two films are a tad different, it's kind of hard to compare them. Some obviously don't care much for a realistic Bond film, but realistic Bond is better than Power Ranger Bond, which is basically what we got with "Die Another Day"! This film is better than its immediate predecessor in basically every way! So, if you need lots of gadgetry, humour, special effects, and perhaps fantasy to be impressed with a Bond film, then you should skip this one, since you won't be seeing those. However, if you want to see a good, more realistic thriller, with a very good actor in the lead role, 2006's "Casino Royale" could blow you away! This is no self-parody! Mind you, I feel I should just warn you about a testicle beating scene, which apparently also happens to Bond in Ian Fleming's novel. I'm glad I knew about it before seeing the film!