Casino Royale -- Without The Cheese

I was probably one of the loudest voices in the negativity chorus when I heard that Daniel Craig was going to be James Bond. I had been suckered in by a certain “feel” for the different Bonds. Craig did not fit the portfolio of Bond.

I reluctantly went to see “Royale” in the theaters and ended up being blown away. This was more than just a re-imagining of an old concept, this was the birth of the 21st century Bond.

I think that we Bond fans finally had admitted the death of the franchise. The plot was always the same as lampooned in movie like “Austin Powers” (let’s do what we always do, steal some nuclear missiles and hold the world ransom). Bond became more about the gadgets, fast cars, and even faster women than the British spy first envisioned by Ian Fleming all those years ago.

“Royal” gives us all a fresh start. Here we see a new James Bond (the title of James Bond 007 is hinted at being passed down from agent to agent as they are “retired”) evolve into a proper British agent, learning the hard way about the life he has chosen.

The gadgets are pretty much gone, replaced with endless Sony products. The cars are polar opposites, we see a Ford and then an Aston Martin (both owned by Ford). The Bond girls are more “real” this time. The seem to actually be a bit independent and I didn’t hear the stereotypical “oh James” even once.

Daniel Crag (he of the body coming out of the water), really impressed me. Craig plays his Bond as a “tough guy”, not the usual witty stick man that most Bonds (with the exception of Connery) have been. He is searching for an identity and really doesn’t want to fall into the mold of his predecessors. Yet he has a soft side as well, ready to quit the service to be with the woman he loves.

The genesis of Craig’s “Bond” will be exciting to watch in the coming years. Let’s just hope that they don’t fall back into old habits and really keep on delivering something new. I read somewhere today that they were thinking of picking up right where the last movie left off. That would be another refreshing change. Maybe we can see this Bond through all his adventures until his inevitable “retirement”.