Casino Royale is Simply Awesome

Rating: 10/10 (10 December 2006)

Well, it took them 20 times, but Hollywood has finally created a Bond that will blow you away.
This is James Bond before he holds his license to kill, but Bond is just as gutsy and dangerous. James is elevated to "00" status and his first mission takes him to Uganda where he is to bring in a terrorist, Mollaka, for questioning. Of course, it doesn't work quite that easily and the first 15 minutes of the movie is an action packed, chase that, of course, ends in an explosion.
Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. He follows a lead to the Bahamas where he encounters Dimitrios who he finds out is involved with Le Chiffre who is the banker to the world's terrorist organization. Bond is able to take care of Dimitrios and stop even more terrorist activity (Which once more ends in an explosion) which then leads him to his next assignment by MI6 to go to Montenegro at Le Casino Royale where Le Chiffre is setting up a high stakes poker game.
M sends accountant Vesper Lynd along to keep an eye on the finances and to unofficially keep an eye on Bond, who is still not completely trustworthy in the eyes of M.
The action in this movie is superb, but if you look deeper than that, you'll find something more meaningful to this movie. This is more a subtle emotional investigation into the character of James Bond than it is anything else.
Some scenes that may at first seem meaningless (EXP: The scene in the shower with Vesper) really are more showing that Bond does indeed have a soul. He can love, he can care, and he can hurt, he just chooses not to. He needs to be broken down in order for that to happen, but in a profession like his, he can't afford to.
Daniel Craig is the perfect Bond. Eva Green was a good Bond girl, and they do have amazing chemistry throughout the entire film.
Is it worth the price of admission? Absolutely! It is 2 and a half hours, but it moves by fairly quickly. Tons of action, great acting and a deeper look at the character of James Bond.
Best movie of the year.