Casino Royale

I wasn't that convinced when I heard that Daniel Craig was the new Bond - a blonde Bond? Plus he didn't quite have the Bond look (I liked Pierce Brosnan's charm and 'suaveness'). But, after watching Casino Royale last night, I think Craig is a fantastic choice! He's very different from Brosnan and seems to make Bond more believable and more human. And I like this brooding, dark, intense new Bond (as opposed to Brosnan's pretty boy, metrosexual Bond).

Back to the movie... Casino Royale is actually the first of the Bond stories as Bond has just gotten his '00' status (and incidentally the movie is apparently pretty close to the story in the book by Ian Fleming). There is a bit more focus on Bond and for once, Bond actually seems to draw blood in fight scenes! The fight scenes and stunts are more down-to-earth (no flying through the air after a crashing airplane kinda stuff). For once, there are no fancy gadgets, no Q, so Bond has to resort to 'normal' weapons. And don't worry, there are still enough explosions and fight scenes to keep the guys happy. There is a good story line and good characterisation. We also see more of M (Judy Dench), which is great.

Overall, I really recommend the movie. Its different from the the last few Bond movies though still has good effects (explosions), is slick and there are nice cars. I used to put Bond movies into the brainless entertainment category but now I think its a movie I would recomemmend to 'serious' moviegoers. At least I didn't go away thinking I had wasted $12 and should have just watched it on DVD (like I did with MI3). I think characterising Bond as brooding, dark and intense definitely has added a lot of depth to the character and the movie. I'm already looking forward to the next Bond movie!