Casino Royale

The movie didn't stray away from the original formula to upset the aficionados yet there was a sincere effort on the director's part to breathe life into the franchise. It was kinda awkward to see Bond in this raw state. And since that was the nature of the character we the audience gave into the flaws. And the flaws in many ways added depth in character. We saw James bond with a female associate this time around. A bit more verbal sparring with this Bond Girl this time around. Who got a chance to show off her acting skills along with the usual skin... 007 almost got a chance to emote. It seemed like he did invest into his relationship with the banker. Now shouldn't a man in his line of work know any better. This emotion-business isn't the kind of a thing he should be dabbling with. Can he afford to be swindled him of his pride and hurt his ego. Did he have a choice but to leave it to the spin of the wheel... Alas it was Love,"I've seen this diamond cut through harder men"...Bond should have known better. It was quite the directorial effort to let us see how agent 007 wasn't afforded a sincere relationship and that's what turned him into this suave lady's man that we have grown fond of.

Parkour was a neat add-on to keep the movie hip and cool and cash in on the franchise. Parkour is likely to pickup in the rest of the world after this super endorsement Sebastien Foucan (of Nike and Scion Commercial fame) has done. So was Texas Hold'Em instead of the original Flemingisque Baccarat. The gadgetry and gizmo's were at all time low in this one and I can live that for now. But I must say I almost walked out of the cinema hall when I saw Bond drive a Ford Mondeo. And did anyone else notice how he parked it next to a Range Rover so elegantly. That was a $25 Million deal to have Bond drive a Ford. The Aston Martin was Bond's penis extension. Did everyone in Monte Carlo use only Sony Products. Or was it for the for the world to know that the MGM franchise is owned by Sony Pictures. What's with the Blu-Ray player for security camera footage, the Vaio laptops, the Sony-Ericsson phones...The "Is that a Rolex?" line was a kick in the face...or did it have to be a little more to the left?

This wasn't a movie about the refined dashing debonair super-spy we all so deeply love. We didn't get to see Q and his entourage of über-gadgets, Money Penny didn't giggle at us from behind the desk. It was a bout a rogue-agent who was finding his ways. He wasn't the most beloved agent on the payroll rather he was the most expendable one. Someone somewhere saw that he had in him what it takes to be a super spy but they weren't willing to bail him out when his chips were down. He had to find that himself. So here's a guy who we the audience know will go to the moon, dodge iron jawed & diamond studded villains, will sleep with Pussy Galore et al. But on screen his boss thinks he's a jerk with an attitude so we root for him, kudos to Martin Campell for the direction and Daniel Craig for being so utterly unbondable yet pulling it off with the panache that no one besides he could have.