Bond is back, with a Veangance.

Rating: 7/10 (16 November 2006)

Casino Royale begins in Black and white, foreshadowing the more dark and violent tone that follows Daniel Craig around the world for two and a half hours. Director David Campbell has breathed life back into what some feared as a dead franchise. Brushing all worries aside, Craig was almost perfect for this new and updated version of James Bond. Although Craig is not as handsome or sleek in his demeanor as the previous Bonds, his grittier attitude does match his looks. It seems MGM put all the pieces of the new Bond puzzle together quite well, but missed one of the most important pieces, the Bond girl. The new Bond girl, played by the anorexic looking and consistently dull import Eva Green, does bring the film down as a whole.
The action in Casino Royale is stellar, snatching all of Bonds usual attention away from his futuristic gadgets and luxurious cars, and centering on pure adrenaline pumping action. Casino Royale may also have one of the best opening credit montages to grace a Bond film, coupled with the catchy theme song brought to us by Chris Cornell. Casino Royale was filmed across the world, picking beautiful locales to compliment the exquisite camera work, bringing us closer to a classier James Bond film.
Another interesting point that should be brought up is the lack of one main villain in this supposed prequel to the life of this promiscuous secret agent. The villain in this is more the greed that can persuade seemingly anyone into the life of corruption. This installment of the franchise does zero in more on Bond's abatement from arrogance, and his struggle with becoming a more efficient agent. Casino Royale is a definite see for the Bond fan, and any newcomer alike.