CASINO ROYALE Drawing Excellent Reviews In The U.K.

The new James Bond franchise film, CASINO ROYALE, is drawing excellent reviews from reviewers. mainly from the U.K. so far despite many reports of production related problems during the filming. Daniel Craig at first drew great concern among many loyal fans of the franchise after some reports that seemed to indicate that he was ill-suited to the role of James Bond. Instead, reviewers are now praising Craig as bringing an intensity to role, and being perhaps the most serious actor ever chosen for the role. Most reviewers now claim that Craig is either the best James Bond since Sean Connery or even better suited to the role than even Sean Connery. That's a very high regard.

In the past few years, despite good box office sales, Pierce Brosnan just hasn't seemed able to carry the role as well as one would have hoped. Brosnan certainly looked like James Bond, but something in his acting seemed to just miss with audiences. Brosnan certainly had the ability to carry the role with a little self-parody and humor, much like Rodger Moore had succeeded in doing, but even that seemed to miss with audiences. Instead, Bronan appeared to be barely adequate for the role, and the series began to grow tired. The last film seemed to be especially lacking in many areas, and was almost enough to end the flagging franchise. But actor Daniel Craig has taken an excellent script based loosely on the Ian Fleming novel, CASINO ROYALE, and produced a stripped down, prequel style of a James Bond film that critics are saying really works.

Craig has once again redefined the James Bond character with the no nonsense toughness of Sean Connery, but with more edge yet. With a basic storyline that avoids many of the gadgets of the later films, this prequel now stands as one of the best of the Bond franchise films and a real jolt to reinvent the franchise for the coming years. There will be great temptation to grow the franchise back into the overblown classics of absurdly outrageous villans, huge sets, silly gadgets and a parade of Bond girls. But with this new basic re-invention of the series working so well, any tinkering with this new formula must be carefully done. The film seems a little like the basicness of the early FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, but achieved with far better skill and yielding great results. Overall a very good addition to the series, breathing new life into the franchise with a film that really works on many levels, including the excellent acting of Daniel Craig, a surprisingly good choice as the new James Bond.