Casino Royale

The Good:
The opening theme or "The Bond Theme" is GREAT. Chris Cornell style.

Daniel Craig was fantastic as Bond. I haven't been even slightly curious about a Bond film since the Sean Connery days and I'm actually very glad I took the time to watch this one. Whereas Remington Steele, oh wait... I mean Pierce Brosnan, was just cheesy and Timothy Dalton was just bad - Craig is a Bond akin to Connery. Cool, calculating, suave and dare I say sexy - he is exactly what Bond should always be.

Mads Mikkelsen was a fabulous villain. The Bond villains almost seem to take over the films from time to time but Mads was so perfectly balanced against Craig he just became a part of things.

This movie has what may be the most incredible chase scene I have ever seen. Definitely the best chase in a Bond movie. I recognized the "villain" who I'm sure was responsible for much of the scenes staging instantly as Sebastien Foucan, inventor of the sport Free Running. I watched a documentary on him and his sport on the Discovery Channel some time ago and if I was amazed with him then - I am even more impressed now. Even if you don't care for Bond the movie is worth seeing if only for this sequence. It's close to the beginning so you can get through it quick.

The Bad:
It's a Bond film, and because it's a Bond film, the plot is extremely predictable. You know who the character set is going to be, you know what's going to happen, you know what the resolution will be. There is very little guessing or surprise involved.

Some of the auxiliary characters aren't as well rounded as you would like for them to be.

Over all:
I really enjoyed this movie, and I didn't expect to. It lacked a lot of what I hate about Bond films (the overt sexism, the cheese, the unnecessary and predictable explosions and gadget sequences) and retained everything I did like (the cool bond, the cool villain, the cool soundtrack).