Bond: Breaking Tradition (!Mild Spoilers!)

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2007)

Finally! A great Bond movie since Goldfinger. I was blown away when I first saw it and every time since then, It impresses me even more. I've been a Bond fan since before World is Not Enough came out, and I continue to live and breathe Bond.
When I first heard about Casino Royale and how it wasn't going to have gadgets, I can remember saying that the producers were stupid, and they didn't know what they were doing. I was afraid that Bond was never going to make a rebound, even though Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye were pretty good. I even was afraid of Craig ruining the Bond franchise. But when I saw it, my mind was completely changed. Daniel Craig is quite possibly the best Bond. He is neck and neck with Connery. Not only is Craig good, but so is the story. Compared to the book, everything is more realistic. (Spoiler Alert!) For example, in the book, Bond is just about to beat Le Chiffre at baccarat, when one of Le Chiffre's henchmen puts a gun against Bond's back. Nobody in the room notices. Then Bond, makes a clumsy move by falling out of the chair and the henchman never fires. In the movie, Bond simply gets poisoned, and nearly dies. These kind of details make the movie very enjoyable, and I look forward to the next Bond movie (which is supposedly going to be a direct sequel to Casino Royale, a Bond first!)