Bond, James Blond

Regarding out-of-touch (clooney's words) and out-to-lunch (my words) Hollywood (I happen to like and respect film as a rich medium which presents large amounts of audio, visual, and thematic information which can be processed in relatively small amounts of time, etc.), I believe that those who have been denigrating and disparaging the new Bond, James Blond, Daniel Craig, (based only on trailers, as long as he continues the Bond tradition of "getting down with the babes"), will be "eating crow" in a very big way!

BOND, JAMES BLOND Strong yet sensitive, introducing the Bond that bleeds BY Stephanie Condron and Sinclair McKay 05/11/2006

AP: I finally saw 'Casino Royale' with 'Bond, James Blond', Daniel Craig. Wow! As anticipated and predicted, I was absolutely correct. I've seen all the 'Bond Franchise' offerings multiple times; and, though not absolutely necessary for success of such cinematic achievements, I found the superlative performance by and added dimensionality of Daniel Craig so engrossing that it's difficult to imagine how anyone could possibly question the wisdom of their choice of the great actor Daniel Craig as none other than Bond, James Blond. As graciously conceded by Roger Moore (whom I always enjoyed, ie., 'The Alaskans', 'The Saint', and Bond of course, etc.), Daniel Craig is indeed the best actor to have embodied the role (which is no slight to his priors); and, we can all say we've been 'shaken if not stirred' thereby!

Casino Royale (U.K.-Czech Republic-Germany-U.S.)By TODD MCCARTHYFor once, there is truth in advertising: The credits proclaim Daniel Craig as "Ian Fleming's James Bond 007," and Craig comes closer to the author's original conception of this exceptionally long-lived male fantasy figure than anyone since early Sean Connery. "Casino Royale" sees Bond recharged with fresh toughness and arrogance, along with balancing hints of sadism and humanity, just as the fabled series is reinvigorated by going back to basics. The Pierce Brosnan quartet set financial high-water marks for the franchise that may not be matched again, but public curiosity, lack of much high-octane action competition through the holiday season and the new film's intrinsic excitement should nonetheless generate Bond-worthy revenue internationally. Script by series vets Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, along with Paul Haggis, hangs together reasonably well and is rewarded for its unaccustomed preoccupation with character by the attentiveness to same by director Martin Campbell, back after having helmed the first Brosnan entry, "GoldenEye," 11 years ago. Dialogue requires Bond to acknowledge his mistakes and reflect on the soul-killing nature of his job, self-searching unimaginable in the more fanciful Bond universes inhabited by Brosnan and Roger Moore. Shrewd and smart as well as gorgeous, Vesper Lynd is hardly the typical Bond girl (she never even appears in a bathing suit), and Green makes her an ideal match for Craig's Bond. Danish star Mikkelsen proves a fine heavy, an imposing man with the memorable flaw of an injured eye that sometimes produces tears of blood. Giancarlo Giannini has a few understated scenes as a friendly contact in Montenegro, and while Jeffrey Wright has little to do as CIA man Felix Leiter, he does get off a couple of the film's best lines, and one can hope he may figure more prominently in forthcoming installments. Sebastien Foucan does some eyebrow-raising "free running" stunts in the African chase. "Casino Royale" is the first Bond in a while that's not over-produced, and it's better for it. Production values are all they need to be, and while the score by David Arnold, in his fourth Bond outing, is very good, the title song, "You Know My Name," sung by Chris Cornell over disappointingly designed opening credits, is a dud.