Bond is back!

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2006)

Bond is back! As a die hard Bond fan, all my expectations of Casino Royal and Daniel Craig's performance were fulfilled! Bond is back, younger, grittier, more vulnerable and oh so complex!
The film as you would expect is full of action and suspense and no one is going to give credit for that. The villains and thugs are as nasty as you can imagine and of course the famous locations are sumptuous. However, what makes this a compelling movie and not just another round of vodka martinis and a monkey suit, is Daniel Craig's amazing performance. As the story unravels, you see a metamorphosis of the character of Bond. You see him nervous, committing his first killing only to fast forward to Felix Leiter his American counterpart, who sees this and holds him back as he attempts to blow the whole plot by getting revenge as he attempts to knife Le Chiffre! Craig's vulnerability is counterbalanced by the exquisite Judy Dench. Dench adds weight and maturity that was often in the later films adorned by Bond himself. But here we have this matriarchal figure keeping her eye on Bond, and at times scorning him as if he was her only child. This beautifully crafted relationship is pivotal to the film and is brilliantly acted out.
This Bond is strong, handsome and athletic. He has the right balance of humor that was only evident during the Connery era. Latter Bonds tended to take this over the top and at times look rather campy. Craig is able to inject the right amount of joie de vivre and not lead us down the slippery slope of pantomime! Casino Royale has to be placed in the top 5 Bonds. A difficult achievement as it competes with a glut of other action film series that the earlier Bonds never had to worry about. Today Bond has to appeal to not just its loyal fans but to an up and coming movie crowd who expect more. The producers were right to recreate this phenomenon and bring Bond back to a place that has apparently connected with today's movie goer! That was evident by the audience participation. As the audience got up to leave, the Bond music played them out with a sense of wanting more.