Casino Royale

With the latest Bond out in theaters right now, I couldn't help but throw Casino Royale in the ol' DVD playing thingamabob. God I love this movie. OK... well... if you need an introduction on who James Bond is and what a typical Bond flick entails then please get off this site right now and give yourself 50 lashes. This is the first film with Daniel Craig as 007, but not the first go at a Casino Royale movie. The first was released in 1967 and had big names like Woody Allen, Peter Sellers and Orson Welles. I haven't seen that one though, so we'll focus on the latest release. Here we see Bond on his very first mission as he earns his double-0 status and sets off to track down the man behind international terrorism funding. Successfully putting a halt to a ploy that would have helped keep money in the baddies' banks, the main antagonist sets up a high stakes poker game to make the money back. Bond and a conveniently-sexy representative from the British mint head to Montenegro with the $10 million buy-in and do a variety of spy stuff. I think I've rambled enough, so let's go ahead and review...

Original Release: 2006
Running Time: 144 minutes (make sure you pee before you sit down)
Death - $2
Shootings... stabbings... chokings... yeah, there's some death. MI6 agents earn their double-0 status by getting two kills under their belt and are expected to complete their missions no matter what means are necessary. Bond being the baddest ass of the Brits, you can only expect that he'll flat line at least a few folks that cross his path.

Acting - $2
Without a doubt the best acted Bond movie ever. There was always a degree of cheesiness with the others that - while fun - kept me from being able to take them too seriously. Well this new take on Bond is much different... it feels more legit and a big part of that is the brilliant acting across the board.

Repeat Play - $2
I can watch this over and over. It's what Bond was always meant to be... hot action, hot cars and hot babes... BUT NOT CAMPY! I've thrown this in about a half-dozen times since I got it and I will definitely be watching it again. Yay Bond!

Hello Ladies - $2
Ummm... it's a Bond film. You know... the kind that is known for "Bond girls"? Yeah? You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, I thought you might. I've heard some debate that the ladies were not up to par in this go but to them I say "shut your face hole"! The bimbo that he nails about half way through was your typical curvy slutty Bond chick, but I had a fine time watching Eva Green strut her English arse across the screen. Also, as most people that know me are already aware, I am a huge sucker for a British accent... boing!

Action and Ass-Kickery - $2
All that aforementioned death doesn't happen on its own people! Add to that all of the non-fatal action and Bill's a happy boy. The chase scene towards the beginning of the movie is pretty awesome on its own but it keeps going strong all the way through to the end
Total Rating: $10

Daniel Craig the Bond for my generation. Sellers, Connery and crew were all great for their time but we needed a more believably bad ass 007 and we have him. I could not be happier and will definitely be heading to the theaters soon to check out Quantum of Solace. I know Bond has a bit of a following (to say the least) so feel free to share your thoughts.