"Royale" without cheese

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2007)

The moribund Bond series gets a much needed shot in the gut thanks to Daniel Craig. Gone are the bland pretty boys with their tepid sexual innuendos and corny one-liners. Craig brings a nasty and cold-blooded jolt to the usual tux-and-martini shenanigans, officially resuscitating the corpse that was cinema's longest-running franchise.
Craig's steely intensity brings weight to a typically thin Bond plot. Following a brilliant chase scene, the film is slowed by several prolonged card-playing segments that bloat the proceedings to an overlong 144 minutes. What's more, the movie's convoluted finale is rather predictable and unsatisfying.
However, thanks to Craig's stirring 007 turn, these flaws can be somewhat forgiven. Thankfully, the new Bond isn't the same as the old Bond.