Film: Casino Royale

From the opening chase scene to the final shot fired, Casino Royale was a wonderful film.

Before the specifics, let me cover the whole "comparison to the usual" thing. Firstly, this was not as far removed from Bond as I was led to believe. It had the gadgets, it had the cars and it had the women, and there was no doubt that this was the Bond we all know and love.

Paradoxically, however, there were many times at which I forgot I was watching a Bond film at all. Apart from the obvious disorientation you get when transitioning to a new face, there was the already reported brutal and bluntness present that was always missing from the other Bond movies (perhaps with the exception of OHMSS): this "get the job done" attitude isn't demonstrated more than in the opening chase scene. And not just with Bond himself; even the bad guys were more simple and straightforward - there were no laser satellites or weapons of mass destruction here. It was all so fresh, and all so totally welcome.

Daniel Craig did a fantastic job as the damaged spy and it's hard to see how his predecessors could have ever managed in the same way; they are all positively camp in comparison. In saying that, however, the implication is that he might not be the best bond. I think we'll only really know after a few more films with the new 007 image.

Eva Green was just plain gorgeous.

The film was superbly shot too. Cameras swooped and panned where necessary, with cut-away flawlessly used otherwise. The story and plot were not so good; this was more a series of Bond filmettes than a movie and there may even have been a few plot holes as a result with the ending appearing quite incomplete after initial consideration. But that didn't really matter - Casino Royale was more about the new Bond than any tangible storyline and I tended to forgive all the discontinuity since I was having so much fun.

So yes absolutely recommended. The film was ace even without the Bond franchise, but even so this is still Classic Bond - he still is the man we are all in awe of and I so want a DBS like he had. And after that, a Vesper too.