Craig much better than expected in Casino Royale

Casino Royale

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Daniel Craig, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright

Cert: 12

We have, for the 21st outing of the super special agent, a new James Bond and a new-look format … sort of.

Casino Royale was one of the earlier Ian Fleming novels so here we meet Bond before he got his 007 licence to kill. We also get a darker, more serious, more character driven story.

If only director Campbell had sustained the courage and not, eventually, reverted to the girls, gadgets and glamour. It’s what the fans expect, of course, so nobody will complain much.

As for Craig, replacing Pierce Brosnan as our hero, he’s not half bad, much better than we had expected and he does bring us a different Bond. This might well be due to the lack of decent one-liners that always gave the others that quirky edge.

So, it’s not a bad film … just kinda different.

Star Rating: 4/5