Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper; A different 007 indeed

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2006)

After watching Casino Royale, one cannot escape the conclusion that for better or worse, Daniel Craig is a new kind of Bond, and entirely different from the one Pierce Brosnan portrayed in his 4 films as 007. Craig is a grittier, darker, more arrogant Bond. He plays his role very seriously and lacks some of the self aware irony that Brosnan brought with him to the part. While the latter had lots of charm and was reminiscent of nostalgic 1950's actors, the new Bond represents a 21st century type of masculinity. He's a man of few words, pumped up from head to toe (girls will be drooling all over this guy), and always believes he knows what to do best, even when his supervisor's suggest otherwise. He's pretty similar to TV's Jack Bauer from the hit series "24" for that matter, although what Craig lacks in brain and wit (compared to Bauer), Bauer lacks in body building (compared to the new Bond).
This being said, I think Casino Royale was afraid of really letting this new Bond character evolve into the dark hero he could have been. Instead, we get a half baked version of numerous action heroes we've already seen before. The movie itself is much like it's main character - rather indecisive of where it's going and what it wants to do upon getting there.
Clocking in at a ridiculously long 144 minutes, the film jump starts with one of the more intense action sequences seen on the silver screen in recent years. Bond chases an African arm smuggler halfway through an African marketplace, into a construction site and onto a foreign embassy. Both guys make insane leaps from one place to the other, hang onto construction equipment while suspended in the air, while explosions that demand suspension of disbelief ensue. This top notch (yet cheesy) action continues through several sequences that start off the film with a bang, each one somewhat calmer than the previous one. Through the African arm smuggler, Bond eventually reaches a French millionaire who benefits financially from various terror acts (this is the first Bond that speaks openly about 9/11 and laughs off the Cold War era). It is during a Casino game that will determine the future of the terror fonds that the film is supposed to peak. However, it just keeps winding down even more-so from there on out. Craig isn't too strong when it comes to the dramatic sequences, and the only dramatic lead that saves some grace is Eva Green (The Dreamers, Kingdom of Heaven), that only appears towards the end of the first 1/3 of the film.
To sum it all up, Casino Royale could have been much better had the rest of the movie looked or felt like the beginning. It had all the right ingredients and heaps of potential, both regarding Craig as well as regarding the meanings through which the plot line unfolded in front of the viewer. However, the over-longed romantic scenes, the winding down of the plot and the lackluster climax couldn't compensate for a strange new Bond, which might just take some time getting used to. Also, the lack of Q and his mechanical gizmos, for one, was also somewhat disappointing. There's just so much an audience will be willing to bare.
I gave it a 5 out of 10.