Casino Royale

The Bond series gets a serious kick up the backside with the latest installment ‘Casino Royale’…
In the wake of the success of the ‘Bourne’ films and the fact that the series, with Pierce Brosnan in the 007 role, had become bloated and ridiculous action movies (invisible car, anyone?), a rethink was needed for the franchise. So, enter a new Bond (Daniel Craig), a return to Ian Fleming’s first 007 novel ‘Casino Royale’ (previously only filmed as a spoof starring David Niven and Peter Sellers) and a gritty, back-to-basics approach (no silly gadgets or daft special effects). The results are phenomenal!
Craig, despite the mauling he received in the press prior to the film’s release, is magnificent as Bond. His rough good looks and obvious abundance of acting talent allow him to take the role and claim it as his own, making him easily the best actor to play the role since Sean Connery. The film’s more gritty approach is also a master-stroke. Yes, there are huge action set-pieces, but there are no ridiculous CGI effects. Instead, there’s the awesome use of ‘free-running’ in an inspired chase sequence at the start of the film and some astonishingly brutal fight sequences, in the opening scenes and halfway through the movie, which are like nothing you’ve seen before in a Bond movie. Based on this, I can’t wait for the next installment!
Eva Green, Dame Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen and Jeffrey Wright co-star.
'Casino Royale' is available on DVD now.