Movie of the Week: Casino Royale

Well, that's going to be a hard one to top...

Anyone who has seen Daniel Craig in Layer Cake and, to a lesser extent, Munich shouldn't be surprised that he makes a great James Bond.

This was definitely a different, less smooth Bond and I liked it. Hopefully, future movies will show the transition to shaken and stirred Bond.

The movie was a little long, especially during the romance between Bond and Vesper. I know they had to establish the connection between them so that we can see how this affects Bond's demeanor and attitude in the future but it definitely hurt the movie.

I hope they get quality directors for the rest of the franchise or just keep Martin Campbell who has now directed two of the best Bond movies in the series - Goldeneye and Casino Royale. He has definitely raised the bar.

Great ending though.