Bond is dead! Long live Bond! - Casino Royale

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2006)

In light of the rubbish that Hollywood's excreted in the last 10 years, it's quite tempting to give Casino Royale a full perfect rating.
Movie and TV fanatics are justifiably nutty when it comes to replacing actors in a popular production, but the wrath Daniel Craig's endured to step into the 007 role should perhaps have fallen onto the likes of Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and to some degree Roger Moore ... this said after watching Casino Royale. And prior to watching this film, Roger Moore was my favorite.
Casino Royale makes Bond almost believable again. Hell, one of my good friends could be mistaken as this Bond. No kidding. Daniel Craig gives Bond a wicked sense of humor, welcomed imperfections, appreciation for life and an example of living extremes. I'm already a fan of Judi Dench and when a non-comedy manages to make me guffaw more than 5 times, there's a richness not often found in today's cinema.
Many of the pros have already given you decent reviews about the mechanics of the movie, but from one movie fan to another -- it's a great feeling to not feel robbed after paying nearly $10 for a ticket. Moreover, it's nearly cinegasmic to feel like you've gotten your money's worth.
Many of you say that Casino Royale leaves lots of questions unanswered. It's refreshing to see a Hollywood movie do just that! Not in the tacky there's-obviously-a-sequel-coming sort of way, but similar to the way more sophisticated foreign/art house films pique interest and leave something to the viewer's imagination. And that's definitely a deviation from Hollywood's typical color-by-numbers output.
Isn't it priceless to crave the next Bond film in an era in which the mention of a sequel is about as pleasurable as swigging down an entire jar of castor oil?