Brilliant back to basics Bond film.

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

Working as a cinema projectionist I show hundreds of films every year and so the prospect of showing yet another James Bond flick didn't really excite me all that much. However; after watching Casino Royale I can't wait for the next instalment! From the black & white opening scene followed by the fantastic opening titles played along to the great theme song ('You know my name' written and performed by Chris Cornell and David Arnold) it's all absolutely brilliant. The action scenes are tense and gritty, keeping you on the edge of your seat but still remain believable, which is a welcome change from the usual: beat up 20 henchmen, get thrown through a plate glass window, before brushing the dust off the shoulder of his dinner jacket and carrying on without a scratch! With so much publicity being made of the choice to cast Daniel Craig in the lead role it's easy to imagine watching the film while continually judging his performance but that just isn't the case. 10 minutes into the just slightly-to-long film you're just engrossed in the action and great script which he delivers with honesty & authority without over doing it. The supporting cast is also brilliant. From the beautiful, sophisticated Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) with whom Bond has some great dialogue to Bond's rival La Chiffre (excellently played by Mads Mikkelsen). David Arnold has done his usual great job of the music duties here; Stirring and emotional without wearing out the obligatory Bond theme. This film proves that one of the most successful film series' in cinema history simply doesn't need lots of gimmicks and gadgets to mange a good film having said that, I imagine we'll see some of them in future Bond outings.