Different from most Bond movies, but great action flick

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2006)

I have seen all of the other Bond movies, and Casino Royale is very unique. It is much more fast-paced than other 007 movies, and a lot more graphically violent. It seems as if after Bond gets his 'License to Kill', he loses the strong urge to kill.Unlike many other 007's, this one started off fast-paced and carried the pace all the way to the very end of the movie, never loosening up.
The cast was very well selected in my opinion. Daniel Craig is a little bit chubby, blonde, and has funny looking ears. Not at all Bond-like. However, he played the role of 007 VERY well. Bond isn't all about looks, he has a very strong personality. And Daniel Craig acts that personality out perfectly. Eva Green was a wise choice for a 'Bond Girl'. She was very beautiful in the movie, and did a great job. The numerous villains were all great as well.
It is not uncommon for Bond to get tortured. The ball-beating scene took me aback, though. I cringed at first, when I saw what he was doing. Also (in my opinion), the best line in the movie was in that scene. Something along the lines of "I've got an itch 'down there', mind scratching it for me?" *whacks in the testicles a few times, HARD* "...And the whole world will know that you came all this way just to scratch my balls!". The line wasn't said EXACTLY like that, but close enough. Anyway, I KNOW that line will be an instant classic. It still left me with that "what the...fudge-cakes?" feeling, however.
It lacked the old "classicness" of other 007 films, but still felt familiar in times, for example at the very beginning where you see him walking past the enemy's gun and shooting the screen, and at the end where he addresses himself as "Bond, James Bond".
If I had one thing to change, it would be the continuous card playing. There was simply too much! Over an hour of just watching people play cards. Otehr than that, the movie was brilliant. Even if it was a bit "lacking", in terms of classicness.