By Edwin Hopkins
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HUGE

 After nearly 45 years of clever gadgets, extraordinary cars, planes, helicopters, jet packs, etc., exotic locations and, oh, did I forget to mention, those incredibly gorgeous women, it was inevitable that fans ( like yours’ truly) would see a James Bond from his humble beginnings before he became a seasoned MI6 veteran whose number 007 would become forever legendary. And British actor Daniel Craig (remember him in Munich?) delivers big time.
 

While Sean Connery played the role with suave discipline, Craig’s Bond is decidedly wreckless. After his first two kills, one being an MI6 agent selling secrets to the enemy which earns him his double-0 status, he gets involved in a rather nasty situation in Uganda when a simple surveillance mission becomes one of the most thrilling foot chase scenes ever. It ends unceremoniously with Bond setting off an international incident and M (Dame Judi Dench) very ticked off. “I knew it was too early to promote you”,
she muses almost regrettably.
 

I admit when I heard that Daniel Craig had been chosen as the next 007, I was a bit wary. Prior to Casino Royale, I had seen him in only 3 other films, Layer Cake, Munich and most recently, the dvd movie Archangel. The initial teasers and trailers alone were
enough for me to reconsider. All anxieties over Craig’s incapability to fill some pretty big shoes (there’s even a website titled ,daniel craig is not bond) should fade away quickly.

Director Martin Campbell, who also helmed Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as the British super spy, drives Royale into new territories courtesy of scripters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis (Crash) . As have all previous 007 film makers and writers, they elicit the requisite drama, suspense and in this case, even rougher, hard hitting action. There’s one part( among others) where you actually wonder how Bond could possibly survive and if you know anything about playing poker, the game between him and Le Chiffre will definitely keep you on edge the entire time.

One thing hasn’t changed, those gorgeous women, although Bond’s attitude towards them takes a rather brash, dark turn when he says he prefers married to single which immediately caused momentary lung failure for me and the audience. 007 was quite bold in the early days wasn’t he?

French born actress Eva Green whom I vaguely remember in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, will most likely be etched into every Bond fans memory. As the latest addition to the elite sorority of “Bond girls/women”, her character Vesper Lynn serves as an equal match for 007. The chemistry she shares with Craig is magical, most notably during their first meeting when both attempt to ferret each others personalities through a verbal fencing match.

Through the controlled mayhem, both Bond and Vesper eventually become victims of Le Chiffre. Mads Mikkelsen, like Eva, makes a superb addition to the Bond characters in this fashion as the villain. Most Bond baddies are full of themselves throughout
the entire movie. Le Chiffre’s seems restricted to the casino and nowhere else.

In the company of the Dame Judi Dench taking a more dramatic role than usual, Casino Royale serves as another victorious transition for the franchise. And although I still miss Desmond Llewellyn, it was pleasant to see Q sit this one out for a change.