Mostly quite good, but unfortunately not the perfect film everyone's been saying it is

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2006)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
With the latest Bond film, with a new look and a new Bond (Daniel Craig) having run out of new films to make, we've gone right back to the beginning, as Bond makes the first two kills necessary to become a 00. Meanwhile, the villain Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) a brilliant but corrupt banker takes some money from a Ugandan terrorist group to invest in an act of terror that will shock the world. But things don't go to plan (on account of Bond) and he is forced to compete in a high stakes poker tournament at the titular Casino Royale in Montenegroe in order to win the money to pay off the deadly criminals who have lost money- but, once again, Bond, with the aid of beautiful but canny MI6 agent Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is on hand to stop him.
I read a little letter that was sent to the Daily Mirror a few weeks ago that mentioned how years ago a new Bond film was just something to go and see to have a good time to but nowadays there was so much hype and publicity surrounding the release of a new film that it was as if your life depended on going to see it and that people should grow up. With all the build-up to the release of this new film, I can certainly see what they meant and felt something niggling inside me when the film had been out for a few weeks and I still hadn't got round to seeing it. What seemed worse was all the people raving about it and how left out I'd feel if I found faults in it. Well, I've tried my best to be as positive as I can about Casino Royale (and there is quite a bit to be happy about) but it's not as if I didn't notice the faults as well.
Starting on a high note, Craig is a fine Bond, and following all the tension as to whether he'd cut the mustard in the role, it's quite relieving to see he more than measures up to the role. The supporting cast are up to the mark too, Green a sexy and intelligent Bond girl, and Mikkelson a convincing and cold villain. As well as them, we have Martin Campbell, who also directed another (superior) Bond film Goldeneye, back in the director's seat, which is re-assuring but undelivering. The film can also boast some quite spectacular cinematography as the camera swoops over the gorgeous hills and seas of Montenegroe.
Being an action film, though, it should also boast some great, spectacular action scenes, and there simply aren't enough of these, with too many talky scenes going on as the action takes place during the poker game at the casino which starts to bore a bit after a while. It also suffers from an ending with too much tacked on and which drags on a bit as a result.
The film could have been a bit better paced and even a bit better edited, but there are a lot of positive things to write home about and Craig has certainly made an impact as the new Bond, and I look forward to his next (hopefully even better) adventure. ****