This film converted me!

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2007)

I am not, nor have I ever been a James Bond fan. Before 'Casino Royale' I had never watched an entire Bond movie and even though I know the basic trivia (shaken not stirred) I really didn't have a clue about the intricate back-stories of Bond. However, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Casino Royale'.
This film, based on the Ian Fleming novel and adapted for the screen by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, and directed by Martin Campbell  does not expect its audience to be 007-aficionados. If anything, the film caters to those, like me, who are introducing themselves to Bond for the first time with 'Casino Royale'. The writers have taken quite a cue from the likes of Robert Ludlum ('The Bourne Supremacy') and maybe even Christopher Nolan and his 2005 'Batman Begins'. This time around, the Bond creators understand that audiences prefer their heroes to be flawed, dark and able to get down to the nitty-gritty of things. I may not have ever watched a full Bond movie before, but I have channel surfed and lingered long enough to know that the Bond of yesteryear was always suave, always got the girl and always came out on top. This time around James Bond, played daringly well by Daniel Craig, has ambiguous morals. Sure, he wants to stop the terrorists and get the job done  but he doesn't mind making a ruckus while doing it and doesn't bat an eyelid when an innocent dies because of a mistake he made. He also amuses himself by hacking into his own organization's internal system and getting on M's (Jude Dench) nerves. This new and improved Bond also isn't the womanizer he used to be  this time around he starts to warily wear his heart on his sleeve, and is all the better for it.
Daniel Craig received a lot of flak when he was given this role. Bond fans wanted 'Casino Royale' boycott and websites were devoted to petitioning film execs trying to get Craig canned  all because he was blond with blue eyes and not what traditionalist fans considered 'Bond material'. Well the skeptics have been proved incredibly and unequivocally wrong. Craig, despite the clear-blue angel eyes plays a vicious, deceiving, cut-throat Bond and throughout pretty much the entire film, I was not entirely sure I even liked him; to be honest he was a bit scary and menacing  which was great! The fight scenes were spectacular (you would expect nothing less in this day and age) and the Montenegro setting was phenomenal.
I am a girl. I am not a Bond fan. And yet I loved 'Caisno Royale' and will definitely be waiting in anticipation for 2008's 'Bond 22'.