A new Bond!

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2006)

When you ask a man which Bond they identify themselves with, you will get a really good idea of what kind man they are by their answer. Finally we have a thinking man's James Bond. I wont compare Daniel Craig to the other Bond actors, because Daniel Craig's performance stands out as its own. He's charming without being charming, gentlemanly without being gentlemanly, and smart without being smart.
At first he comes off as a nerd by hacking computers, but quickly he becomes a beach god in the next segment, and yet he manages not to confuse the audience as to who he really is. He's the new Bond; gritty, calculating, sensitive, crafty, and not the least bit unrealistic, which are all traits that could also be said about the Movie "Casino Royale" as well.
Unlike other Bond films, especially the recent ones, "Casino Royale" doesn't rely on outlandish stunts to capture the audience's attention, but rather lets the story unfold. At no point did the actions of the characters need to be explained, and there wasn't a moment in which I wasn't riveted to see what was going to happen next.
When people ask me which Bond I identify with, I will tell them Daniel Craig, because he defined himself better than all the other Bonds did, and he didn't need big explosions to prove he was a hero.
My only complaints about the movie are that the last fight scene was a little hard to follow (but I loved the conclusion it came to), and the movie ends on a bit of question mark, which I hope means that the next Daniel Craig Bond film will start off where "Casino Royale" ends.
If they can follow up this master piece with another master piece Ian Fleming will be proud.