Holy shit...i just came from seeing Casino Royale...i-i-i'm, i dont know, i cant talk, i'm speechless...it was fucking awesome! and this from a bond traditionalist...fuck man, i'm a roger moore fan ferchrissakes! yes, yes sean connery was the best, but i'd rather watch roger moore bonds, he's the one i grew up on...i thought i was over bond after A View To A Kill (really weak, there was no hiding that roger moore was too old, the stunt men were waaaaay too visible, and having grace jones turn into a good guy at the end was even worse than turning Jaws into a good guy), but to my surprise Timothy Dalton and his Bond flicks were rather good (License To Kill especially)...then pierce brosnan came along and everything went to hell, each one worse than the last, there is not one highlight in any of pierce's movies, no set piece that keeps you talking afterwards, no memorable villains, and pierce was simply awful, he had no way with a quip (and what lame quips they were e.g. "I thought Christmas only came once a year")...ugh...pierce brosnan was the anti-christ...so now, here is the new Casino Royale, its getting good reviews, i'm still not sure if i wanna see it, the family is over for thanksgiving, so what to do after turkey dinner at 2pm, how about a movie, oh look casino royale starts relatively soon, lets go see that...and it was, just, just awesome...well, except for that opening credits sequence (maurice binder will never be replaced, and man these title songs are the worst; hard to believe but A View To A Kill is sounds like a great tune compared to just about any title song that came after) and pls PLEASE get rid of david arnold as the film composer, my god that man cannot score a bond flick! there is no lyricism or beauty to the music during the quieter moments in the film (just go back to John Barry to see what I mean) and his action cues are just brash and assaultive (go back to George Martin's Live and Let Die score to see how to do action cues utilizing your memorable title theme and of course the james bond theme itself)...i dont want to get into a full review too much right now, its still in theaters and i cant really give an in depth discussion of the film without giving away the story...but i will say this: daniel craig is really really good, very good...kudos to him for pulling this off...mads mikkelsen as Le Chiffre is one of the most intense villains in the entire series, he is a chilling, almost scary presence...i dont know the first thing about Texas Hold 'Em (the card game where Bond matches wits with Le Chiffre) but Craig and Mikkelsen make it a joy to watch the battle, i'm glad the filmmakers devoted as much time to the card game as they did, its a thrilling scene...eva green is stunning to look at, but she is not irritating in the slightest like just about every other woman in the series....and the stunts are - wow!, there hasnt been a stunt set piece worth mentioning since the Dalton films (e.g. the fight while dangling out of an airplane from The Living Daylights; the chase with tanker trucks from License To Kill)...one day, after the film has passed from theaters (and hopefully made a gazillion dollars), i will devote more time and space to talk about the film in more detail, but for now, i will just suggest that you go see it (what else is out right now anyway? another jerry bruckheimer production? pass!)...after casino royale, james bond will return, and you know what, i'll be waiting...