Bond Begins  A Royal Treatment

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2007)

"Casino Royale" (2006) directed by Martin Campbell is different from the Bond movies I've seen but it is very good. Based on the first novel in the Bond series, it shows James Bond (Daniel Craig) in the beginning of his career. His mission is to destroy a corrupt banker LeChiffre (Mads Mikkelsen} at the poker tables where he never loses and wins a lot of money to supply the various terrorists' organizations. To accomplish this extremely dangerous task, Bond has to rely mostly on himself; there are no fancy gadgets that Q would provide him with. There is no Q either. I think it is the only Bond movie that lets us look rather briefly behind the Super-agent facade to see more human side of Bond. I don't remember any other Bond movie where he would be tortured in the way that made me truly uncomfortable. I also believe that it is the only (or one of very few) movie where Bond fell in love and as the result of that affair, he would never fell in love again. I have only seen Daniel Craig in two movies before "Casino Royale", "The Mother" (2003) and last year's "Munich" but he was memorable in both. As new James Bond, he is fabulous - a marvel to look at, he has unbelievably blue eyes, he is in a great shape (remember, he has to rely only on himself while chasing, fighting, shooting, and killing bad guys) and he delivers a very convincing James Bond, sharp, tough but vulnerable - the Bond for a new millennium.
8.5/10