Strong opening for Graig

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2006)

Casino Royale is a Bond-film with all the right ingredients. Big actions sequences and clever dialogue. Additionally it manages to be different from previous Bond-films and manages to turn certain conventions on their ears with style. The films attempt at being darker is successful without the film becoming hopelessly bleak.
Graig is also a very good Bond. He's charismatic and brooding like Timothy Dalton, but can still deliver Bond's typical witticisms naturally. He's still a bit of a tough case and not quite as clean as Connery or Brosnan, but definitely the type of Bond that the audience identifies with.
Additionally the film manages to (re)start Bond's tale in a way that isn't too cheesy, though I undoubtedly did miss Q and Moneypenny. With all his got, Graig still does a good job.
The only point of criticism is the slightly misleading parts of the film where the viewer thinks the movie is ending while in truth it is only entering its final act. This makes the film feel a little long. Still this is balanced out by the quirks of a fairly fresh 00-agent who still makes mistakes and pays a price for them.
Regardless, this Bond-film had the most satisfying open-endings I have ever seen. I wait eagerly for what's in store for us in the next one.