Review – Casino Royale (2006)

I actually liked this one, despite the movie’s heavy reliance on a high stakes poker game (about as much fun as watching paint dry) for a lot of the “action” in the middle of the show. Die-hard Bond fans made a fuss about Daniel Craig, but I thought he did a fine job. His Bond was more down-to-business and less smarmy charm, something I found frankly refreshing. Also, this was set up as a “new beginning” for the character (sort of like what they tried to do for Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears). This Bond is a young-ish agent who has just recently earned his double-O number. This gives them some fresh plot possibilities. The stock stuff from the series is here, but it’s been re-tooled to make it more interesting. Case in point: the traditional gun-barrel shot at the beginning is actually part of the plot. Mildly amusing