Craig, Daniel Craig is Bond. Best Bond movie in a generation.

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

Wow! Simply put... Wow! Just got back from the show and I thought it is the best Bond in many many years.
Remember the great ballyhoo when Daniel Craig was announced as 007? Critics decried the casting of the blonde hair and blue eyed Craig as Bond. It was the end of the franchise! A betrayal of the legacy of Fleming, Broccoli, and Saltzman! And so on... What fools the critics must feel like now.
Seeing this is a movie that strongly features a casino and poker, I think it's fair to say that Craig delivers "in spades". His Bond is a revelation to the series. He brings a brutal and grim menace to the role unlike anything we have seen from his predecessors. This is the toughest, meanest, most ruthless Bond ever to take to the screen. And not only can he dish out the rough stuff, but he can certainly take it. Craig carries off the most violent scenes in the history of the series with utter conviction and believability.
Despite all the rough stuff, what is quite interesting about Craig's Bond is the surprising charm and wit he brings to the role. There are moments of humour sprinkled throughout the film, but not in the slapstick buffoonery of many of the previous installments. It's the wit of Craig's Bond that is funny, not the set up, pratfall, or whatever gag, but the wit. Even the most brutal scene in the film (and the of history of the series) features a funny element, and similar to Much at the gate, the humour very much helps to soften the most difficult part of the movie.
My greatest fear for this particular incarnation of Bond? Remember Timothy Dalton's 007? He had grit, determination, and menace as well, and while the gates weren't bad for his pair of movies, Dalton's Bond is largely dismissed and mostly forgotten. (And for anyone that likes "Casino Royale" I suggest a revisiting of "The Living Daylights" and "Licence To Kill".) I hope Barbra Broccoli and Michael Wilson have the courage to stay on this character. It's a breath of fresh air and puts the series on level footing with the superb "Bourne" movies. The Bond character and the world in which he takes part is believable and has credibility.
Full marks to the supporting cast. Judy Dench returns as the tough-as-nails M, Mads Mikkelsen is menacing and threatening as Le Chiffre, but my top marks go to Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. Continuing the tradition of the strong female lead established in the Brosnan movies, Vesper Green is great match for Bond. She is highly intelligent, strong willed, and cunning. The cast is great but this is absolutely Craig's movie. He outshines them all and I guess that's entirely appropriate as he is the top of the play bill.
Other elements that make a Bond film a Bond film? Why action, gadgets, and girls of course! The action is on par with any if the other films. except the brutality of the fight scenes. Get ready for these as they are bloody intense and the series hasn't seen anything like this since the legendary Bond and Red Grange tussle on the Orient Express in "From Russia With Love".
Gadgets? Thanks the heavens above someone finally had the wits about them to discontinue the series's obsession with gadgets. I love the Bond movies one and all, but having our hero always relying on Q Branch instead of his wits and abilities is silly. Remember back in "From Russia With Love" when all he ad was the briefcase with the gold sovereigns, sniper rifle, throwing knife and trick tumbles on the lock? This movie returns to that discipline and it is well appreciated by this author.
And girls? Even though there's only two to mention, they are hot and skimpy. That should be enough on that topic.
If you have made it this far, your probably wondering when I'm going to stop gushing over this movie. Well here's why the show got an 8 instead of something higher. Two words for you... "the" and "ending". This movie includes a rather unique denouement, at least in big budget Hollywood terms. Just when you think you can finish off that last bit of popcorn and that last swallow of pop, you find out there's a bit more to go... and then a bit more after that. Nuff said before I stray into "Spoiler land".
This is the Bond movie that was desperately needed. The production team have made a deliberate decision to reinvent the series and I strongly believe it works. Try this one out. Hollywood's greatest secret agent is back.