Casino Royale

I’ve never been much of a Bond fan, but I dug this new incarnation of the character starring Daniel Craig. It seems this is the way the character needs to be portrayed. Craig makes him a violent, brutal man with a soft spot, actually treating him like a real guy rather than some silly icon. This Bond doesn’t give a shit how you prepare his martinis, will kill your ass if you pose a threat to him and just might fall in love with the right woman. The plot is a little confusing, involving a big gambling showdown where a creepy guy named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) looks to score big as a means of funding terrorism. Judi Dench returns as M in a rather cranky mood, and there’s no sign of the dude who provides all of the usual goofy gadgets. As I remember, Quentin Tarantino came up with the idea to restart the Bond franchise with Casino Royale and provide him with a rebirth (although he wanted to do it with Pierce Brosnan). As it turns out, Quentin Tarantino had half of a great idea. I think this is actually my favorite Bond movie—ever. Screw Sean Connery and Roger Moore! I’ll give Brosnan a pass … his scripts sucked, but he was cool. Craig is the best Bond yet, and I’m not afraid to admit it.