Ladies and Gentlemen, forget what you know about 007 - lets start afresh!!

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2006)

"The name's Bond, James Bond!"
Nop! We don't get to hear this familiar cliché until we reach the very last scene; welcome to the new 007 movie Casino Royale. We see a much less experienced, agile and athletic yet not the kind of Bond we have become used to in the past few years during the Pierce Brosnan era. The Bond we come to know is new in his profession, slightly naive but warm at heart (recall "How can you do like this? How can you be so cold?" - Goldeneye). He does not delve himself into some vendetta for satisfying orgasm but falls in love, wishes to quit his profession for a settled family life. Isn't this what all of us dream of? Well, Bond is no superhuman, he is just another person, just like us - that's what the movie is all about. Well, if only Bond could be like us, how could he be any different from us that made him so popular? How could he be the hero we all know? Probably fate had a similar opinion too, hence Bond is not what *he* wanted to be but is how *we* want him to be - cold and professional, relentless in completing his mission, loves to play around with all the new gadgets he gets and of course his never ending drive for satisfying his libido. Casino Royale is far away from this well known Bond's image.
I will not go at depth to give a complete writeup of the story. However, I will give a few comments though. If you are looking for a 007 movie which is fast, action packed with lots of new gadgets and steamy sex scenes, this is not the movie for you. This movie is completely different from the plot we have got used to from the past four Pierce Brosnan movies; its slower, hardly any new gadgets, no Q and hardly any sex scene. The emphasis was on the plot and on the Bond's character; a reflection into what made him into the 007 we know. However, it has some beautiful scenic beauties at some exotic locations, some remarkable action scenes without the CGI stuff, a wonderful foot chase (its indeed something I have seen after a long while). I would say, its much more down to the earth movie. We also see glimpses of Bond's well known witty remarks. And on Craig's performance I would only say that in my opinion, Brosnan was perhaps better suited as the kind of Bond we love to imagine. Craig is much more down to earth, more like the one Ian Fleming portrayed. As a whole, I would only say that as a 007 movie, you might want to watch is at least once.