Shaken AND stirred

We went to see the latest James Bond flick last night. Casino Royale is a whole other kind of Bond picture. Not campy, more like a thinking person's Bond.

Let's face it, if "00" stands for "License to Kill," one would expect to see Bond be a much more fearsome creature than, say, Roger Moore, whose performances were always completely appalling. I always hate to see wrinkly geezers act like they can expect a Miss Universe barely past the age of consent to fall at their feet, anyway, but Moore's scandalous lack of acting talent also was quite off-putting. And Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were both very nice to look at, but neither of them seemed vicious enough.

Daniel Craig imparts an animalism to the role that has always been sadly lacking. The stuntwork is superb-- especially the chase scene set in Madagascar. He remains a sympathetic character however-- you're left wondering what makes him tick. This is a brooding Bond, an imperfect Bond, an intelligent Bond-- in short, everything the character was missing before.

I previously was not fond of Bond movies-- too ridiculous, too arch. Even though this Bond is violent, it's far less gory than a lot of what you can see on TV. And it definitely was thought-provoking. Good plot twists, too. I especially appreciated the attention paid to the moral dilemma of a man who is willing to do all kinds of illegal and immoral things in the name of his country.

If you haven't given Bond a chance in a while, try this one, especially if you liked movies like the Bourne series. I think this could breathe new life into a worn franchise.