Drawing Wild Cards.

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2006)

James Bond's (Daniel Craig) first mission is to go to Montenegro in Eastern Europe and win a high-stakes poker tournament against a sadistic middle-man (Mads Mikkelsen) who is secretly funding terrorist nations and syndicates who crave world domination. Red-hot Eva Green is our Bond girl this time and we have second-to-none supporting players all over the board (Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench and Giancarlo Giannini). The 21st official entry in the long-running series that began with "Dr. No" in 1962 will most be remembered for Craig's introduction as the famed British secret agent. Like fine wines, each installment has its pluses and minuses (as a rule more upside than down though) and this one is no exception. Craig, like every other man who has played Bond over the past 40 plus years, brings his own unique elements to the part. While overly long and different from the other earlier films, "Casino Royale" is still a more than adequate and worthy addition to the world's most famous cinematic series of pictures. 4 stars out of 5.