Casino Royale Review

Overall Rating

Gritty, more realistic interpretation of Bond.
Very impresisve action scenes & stunts.
Excellent supporting cast.

Decidedly "different" than anything seen before in the films - film fans may feel lost & confused.
No Moneypenny or Q...?

Casino Royal represents a "reboot" of the James Bond film franchise. It had started to go a bit wayward with diamond-studded villains, DNA re-written by some nutcase, villains who can't feel pain and one who "creates" news headlines so he can get an exclusive story.
The film starts at the beginning, where a seemingly emotionally retarded MI6 field agent called James Bond earns his "00" licence following a successful assassination op where 2 targets are dispatched cleanly and without repercussions.
He then finds himself pulled into the "war on terror" by being assigned to go against a terrorism financier at the "Casino Royale" and turning him into a double-agent.
I'm a big fan of the films, so I admit I wasn't sure about Daniel Craig. He was good in films like "The Glass House" but I couldn't imagine him as 007.
Thankfully I was wrong. Craig's interpretation of Bond is probably the closest to Ian Fleming's book-based 007. Withdrawn emotionally, not the womaniser of the films, less reliant on gadgets, and living by his own skill and wits.
The film itself is pretty faithful to the original novel, just with some details updated and a few extra action scenes. The torture scene (which is not over-graphic, but makes viewers wince) is more believable than the "meeting of minds" that most other films favour. And at least after that, 007 doesn't just slacken his tie and keep going like Moore or Brosnan would have done.
Also, the "gun-barrel" sequence at the beginning of each film is given an "explanation", as is the "Bond, James Bond" quote that so many have badly emulated with a faux-Edinburgh accent.
As a die-hard Bond fan, I can say that other Bond fans are probably going to be impressed by this film. Just be aware that this marks a change in the atmosphere of the film series, albeit a positive one.