A breath of fresh air

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2006)

Daniel Craig is not the James Bond we've known for the past forty years, and thank God for that. While the other films might have been progressing towards campy fun with huge explosions, and that being OK, this film is something else.
Casino Royale makes me love the character James Bond. Craig's performance is extraordinary, (and I'm still swooning from seeing him, you'll completely forget about the Bond Girl, Bond is the eye candy) and he makes this character his own. You can tell he really took pride in being Bond, not just another actor to give a "Look at me! I'm James Bond! Watch me shoot these guys and blow this up!" performance. He gives Bond some actual character development in the film, you see Bond grow up and become a true 00 Agent.
The opening sequence, the black and white, the editing between the timelines was skillfully done. It was a great opener.
My only complaint is the opening credits were tacky and not very interesting. Also, there is a lull in both action and interest following the Casino part of the film, it ends though and is your interest is very quickly revived for the climax. But it does get somewhat dull while it lasts.
Its a long movie, but I loved it and certainly don't mind sitting through a long one when its this entertaining.
Job well done, and they'd better not mess up Bond 22.