Good for Bond

Rating: 5/10 (22 February 2007)

I decided to go and watch this film even though I generally hate Bond as all my friends told me I would enjoy it. Hmmm, it was OK. As a Bond film it was very good, certainly the best I've seen but as simply a film it was just OK.
Casino Royale tells of Bond's first assignment, tracking down villain Le Chiffre via a high stakes poker game. Craig displays a very rebellious and disruptive Bond who clashes with his superiors considerably. Of course there is also the ever-present love interest along the way (an accountant this time, yay for us!).
Daniel Craig was adequate, not being a Bond fan I don't have much of an opinion on whether he is 'right' to play Bond but he seemed at lot less cheesy than the others I have seen. The highlight of the film was Eva Green, who is excellent in everything she is in - those eyes are amazing! And of course Judi Dench was as engaging as always! I found the music very overpowering, it was very 'Bond' and I feel it detracts from the story slightly, too overblown.
The chase scene at the start is probably the most impressive part of the film, even if it does get slightly ridiculous in places. One thing it suffers from is feeling the need to treat the viewer like an idiot, spelling things out too much (like how much money's in the pot) rather than encouraging people to think about it for themselves (lazy people's cinema!).
If you like Bond and are open-minded you should definitely go and see this. If you are a die hard Bond fan who loves the cheesiness you may want to give it a miss. For the non-Bond fans it is a perfectly watchable film but nothing amazing - I didn't get bored but I doubt I'll watch it again.