007: Casino Royale

Casino Royale has the answers to all my complaints about the 45-year-old James Bond series, and some I hadn't even thought of.

Daniel Craig is a fair-haired, bare-knuckle antidote to Pierce Brosnan. On the action-adventure level, it hits the bulls-eye.

Welcome to the new world of MI6's most storied agent.

The first Bond film to actually prize three-dimensional characters and moral dilemmas over action-film flash.

Unlike recent Bonds, whose kills had no more weight than the one-liners that generally accompanied them, Craig's tend to be intimate, bloody, and devoid of glamour.

Bond as a human being? Who'd'a'thunk?

I hope Craig finds more moments like that in Bond. And I hope he gets to wear that tuxedo again and again and again.

I consider Daniel Craig to be the most effective and appealing of the six actors who have played 007, and that includes even Sean Connery.

This, at last, is Bond stripped bare.

There's clearly life in the old dog yet.

Let the purists squawk: In Daniel Craig, the Bond franchise has finally found a 007 whose cruel charisma rivals that of Sean Connery.

Casino Royale isn't perfect, but it's surprisingly entertaining, even exciting for long stretches, and Craig manages to find new dimensions to a character that had long ago become a tired caricature. Everything old is new again, indeed.

Craig is a marvel, but the decision to have Bond engaged in a game of Hold 'Em poker is a betrayal of the character and an embarrassing bit of pandering. Small detail, I know.

You don't need a weatherman to tell you the 21st installment in the franchise brings an invigorating chill to the air.

It's The Spy Who Came In From the Warmth.

What, no jet packs? No world-conquering supervillains orbiting the planet? No preference for shaken martinis?

[Craig's] portrayal feels grittier and more complex than previous 007s. This is also partly the result of a better script, by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Oscar winner Paul Haggis, as well as top-notch directing by Martin Campbell.

If the goal was to give Bond vivid new life, Casino Royale must be called a success. This Bond is not only licensed to kill but eager to get on with the job.

It's not as bad as Die Another Day, and not up to the jolly mayhem of the best films in the series.

Casino Royale is a step in the right direction for the Bond franchise. But it's a small, tentative step.