Amazing action for the first half or so...

Rating: 7/10 (21 November 2006)

The people behind James Bond catch up to the lucrative angle of resurrecting the franchise with a prequel in Casino Royale, Bond's first mission as 007. In what is supposedly the first of the entire Bond series, newcomer Daniel Craig reprises the role as the youngest, blondest Bond. Don't expect early James to be as suave or refined as the others; here, he is still very much crude and arrogant, packaged as an efficient, feral killing machine.
While Craig has the best Bond body yet, he is eons away from his pretty boy predecessors. His oozing masculinity could not obviously translate into the smooth alter ego that his character needs. His face is too primordial to successfully evolve, even when clad in a tailored monkey suit. His leading lady Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green) had to verbalize this in their first meeting in the train scene, the producers' caveat in case it's lost on the viewers. She had to say that he wears his clothes indifferently, etc. Having to tell the audience this, instead of it just being shown, revealed a possible insecurity/defense of this choice for Bond. His is a cold, savage face of a killer.
Meanwhile, Green is reminiscent of a more mature Jennifer Love Hewitt; she does not do justice to her character as a quintessential object of lust/Bond girl (well she is, after all, playing an accountant). Her frame is too slight and her face too overly made up; nothing great. Only the villains were perfectly cast, even Le Chiffre's girl was much hotter.
Still, this movie showcases amazing action for the first half or so, most especially the Madagascar chase at the cockfight through the construction and embassy. You can, however, skip the pathetic Mediterranean lovey-dovey boat cruise portion with the straining Titanic-like strings at the background. What a shame, having already gotten the ever-cool Chris Cornell to supply the opening theme, with the clever intro credits.