A great rebirth of 007-------8/10

Rating: 8/10 (23 November 2006)

"What? A blond guy playing James Bond? Time to riot!"
This was the sort of sentiment that was commonplace when Daniel Craig was announced as the next generation James Bond. At the time i didn't think he fit the mold for 007, either. I must say i stand corrected and glad about it. He did a great job because of one thing: I believed him as James Bond. Now they could have gotten any white, black haired actor with an English accent to play Bond and he may or may not have worked out. But Craig made you believe he was Bond. Thats really all i wanted. Now bring on the action!
The backbone of any great 007 movie is the action sequences. Even the action from the Connery days still hold up well (check out the underwater battle in Thunderball). Casino Royale is no exception. It's got an explosive chase at Miami Airport and great fight scenes in Monte Carlo and pretty much everywhere Bond goes. But the standout scene is a heart-stopping on-foot chase between Bond and a bomb maker played by free runner Sebastien Foucan, who puts on one of the most agile and athletic action performances since Ray Park in The Phantom Menace. He bounces off walls and jumps from huge cranes and always lands on his feet. This is one of the coolest action scenes ever. Period. And also watch for the most cringe-worthy torture scene i have ever seen. There's no gore or anything but you will feel this man's pain.
Another staple of Bond flicks are the beautiful women. This on has more than enough with Eva Green's excellent performance as Bond's match Vesper Lynd, and the stunning Caterina Murino as the obligatory bad guy's wife, Solange. And of course Bond gets to bed them both.
Now as much I enjoyed Casino Royale, it did have a few setbacks. The bad guy, Le Chiffre (played perfectly by Mads Mikkelsen), is a great villain but i thought his exit was sudden and unsatisfactory. And after that, the movie doesn't really have a climax. The whole third act actually suffers from not having a definitive bad guy and gets a bit predictable. However, a lot of people complained that the poker scenes take too much time. I found them to be exciting, fun, and very well done.
At any rate, i am glad to say that Casino Royale is a great rebirth of 007. He is the classic Bond, but a little rough around the edges, more ruthless, and more vulnerable, which i think will make for a great new series of 007 films. Welcome back, Mr. Bond. 8/10