The anti-Bond

Rating: 4/10 (15 March 2007)

Whenever a producer decides to "reinvent" a classic film character, the result is generally horrific. That rule holds true for James Bond in Casino Royale.
Reinvention is a scary process. Roger Moore supposedly wanted Cuba Gooding, Jr. to be the first black James Bond. Maybe then we could have the first Eskimo James Bond, followed by the first Pygmy James Bond. Given the success of March of the Penguins and in deference to the animal rights crowd, we could even have a penguin James Bond. (Hey, they both look good in a tux.)
According to the song, Mr. Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang, "He's tall and he's dark, and like the shark he looks for trouble...." Daniel Craig's Bond is short (or at least average) and blond. When asked if he wants his vodka martini shaken or stirred, he angrily replies, "Do I look as though I care?" Definitely anti-Bond.
Facially, Mr. Craig looks like a dissipate Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen was cool, right? James Bond is cool,too. So could McQueen ever have played James Bond? Not bloody likely.
I read most of the Bond books some forty years ago, and my views of the character are mostly shaped by subsequent movies. Bond is suave, cool under pressure, resourceful, witty and constantly horny. Craig's version is blunt, angry, lucky, bland and (Lord save us!) ultimately SENSITIVE.
The movie manages to redeem itself somewhat through the well done action sequences, but that doesn't make it a good Bond movie.
Daniel Craig is definitely not the new James Bond, unless you're willing to abandon the character entirely. Maybe he can be the new Lemmy Caution.