Probably one of the best Bonds ever made

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2006)

When I heard that Daniel Craig had been cast as Bond I was skeptical. This was based entirely on ignorance because for starters I'd never actually heard of him, nor seen him act. And lastly, when he turned up for the press launch with his longer hair, he looked uncomfortable. I've seen every Bond movie and love them all for different reasons. I particularly enjoyed Pierce Brosnan as Bond and though the over use of CGI was a disappointment in his last movie, I was eager to see him have one last shot at the role. Over th years I thought Connery was obviously the best, but I actually rate George Lazenby as having had the potential to equal him, his single stint was very impressive, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. With Brosnan he had the charm and ability to merge the cheese factor of the Roger Moore years with the edge of Connery... So enter the unknown Craig hot on the heels of Brosnan's box office smash and I was initially baffled... Then I decided to sit down and watch his movies. Layer cake, the Jacket and then I saw him in Munich. Very very quickly I realized here was a man who could act. Who could look very handsome one minute and be bloody ugly the next. An actor who is quite frankly a chameleon. I was suddenly very eager to see what we were to get with Craig, and bit by bit as the news about the film came out, my hopes grew.
What I didn't expect when sat down to watch Casino Royale, was to be so absolutely blown away by both his performance, and the earthiness of the script.
It's this simple. Craig IS Bond. My God. Not only did did he equal Connery, at times I think he was better. I want to see him again and again. While he's young. No long breaks between movies, grab this man by the throat and wring a few Bonds out back to back. Seriously. It would be a crime to squander this actor.
The movie itself isn't perfect, there are some very odd script gaffs. Why for example doesn't Vesper Lynd jut give the money over if she's being blackmailed. What was the point in using the poker match as her cover to lose the money to the bad guys. It was flimsy. And why was the money withdrawn as cash in the end. In the age of instant wire transfers if could have been easily lost in the money laundering wash of multiple front banks in seconds.
But none of that really matters. What matters is do you buy it at the time, and you do, and you do because the supporting cast is A1, but more importantly Craig is so iron fistedly believable as Bond.
I genuinely can't wait for the next one!