Review of Casino Royale (2006) by Jonm. — 07 Dec 2006

What a return for Bond, what a debut in the franchise for Daniel Craig. The movie is excellent, dramatic set pieces, tension building plot and clever scripting. This only misses a strong 9 due to slightly overlong love story in the last third of the film.

Craig is genius, bettering Brosnan's comic caricature of Bond. His physical presence, charm and wit mean the chases flow, fight scenes crunch like no bond before, and his vocal sparring with enemies and love interests is as sharp as knives.