Movie Reviews

Recent Bond movies have been as uninteresting as they are unbelievable: each a series of loosely connected set pieces, lame puns and product placements that overshadow the villain du jour and his nefarious plans for world domination.

After 20 films, arguments as to who best epitomizes Ian Fleming's suave superspy are like the old movies themselves: fun, pointless, outdated. So, in that spirit of subjective speculation, Casino Royale's Daniel Craig is the one to put your money on.

Billed as a "reboot" of the franchise, Casino Royale sets Craig as a newly minted 00 agent out to dismantle a terrorist-funding network, with all the usual means: seduction, assassination...high-stakes poker. But the same old Bond plot this isn't. The audience isn't distracted from Craig's baby steps as a Bond with doomsday devices, underwater-car escapades or henchmen with deadly hats. The plot focuses on a Bond more vulnerable and more lethal than any of his predecessors.

Which isn't to say the film lacks action; it has plenty. A thrilling foot-pursuit at the outset features some nifty stunt work and an appalling, yet strangely amusing disregard on Bond's part for the notion of collateral damage. The myriad rough-and-tumble fight scenes illustrate the wisdom of casting Craig, as he manages to turn Bond into a frighteningly believable badass.

In bringing Bond back down to earth, Casino Royale may have broken the mold, but it's made the shape of things to come far more intriguing. For once, the credit's signature phrase "James Bond will return" seems more like a promise than a threat.