The song is amazing, I love it ... but it seemed out of place in the opening credits ... just isn't an opening credit's type song.

I give this an 8.9/10
It was a damn fine movie and I like the way the new Bond is set up. Its a damn fine restart. Only I thought the movie needed some editing or cut.
Craig kicks ass and I am pretty sure he will become even better in the next Bonds. I would say for me it was nearly a good restart as Batman Begins was. Altough for Batman I did wet my panties which was not the case here....but it was close.
Yeah I did like it very much and I hope for more comming. Next Bond? I am there.

I'm going with B+, A- right now, but I need to organize my thoughts first; semi-full review later in the day...

This is currently my favorite movie of the year. It's an incredible achievement and by far the best James Bond film. A+.

Very few movies have a thrill a minute type of tempo ala Raiders of the Lost Ark. Except for the horrible OHMSS, every single bond movie is fast paced. Further they have always been very entertaining movies. Casino Royale is slow-paced, not very entertaining and the least Bond like movie compared to the previous 19 movies (excluding OHMSS).

Bourne movies made with half the budget of Casino Royale are taut, entertaining and realistic. Since the stated goal of the makers of Casino Royale was to make Bond more like Bourne while reducing the production cost. They could not accomplsh none of those. For a person who has loved Bond movies over 31 years, this movie single handedly lowered this franchise in my eye and completely eliminated my anticiaption for Bond movies from this movie onwards.

Well shit the executive producers let you down with their false promises, I'm sorry about that. Everything else you've said is really just opinion and I can't argue as to whether or not the film was entertaining. All I'd say is that there's plenty of Bond films like Moonraker and Thunderball that put me to sleep, but to each his own. I for one couldn't be happier that they didn't make Casino Royale at all similar to the Bourne films, now those are some boring movies.

That is your opinion. I would take Moonraker and Thunderball over the current wannabe bond movie anytime.

Anyway, Thunderball has an inflation adjusted gross of $493M and Moonraker's gross is about $185M. Revisionist history does not change the fact that these movies were received better and did way, way, way better (especially Thunderball) than the crappy Casino Royale.

Interesting you know Casino Royale's final gross! Tell me how so I may use these powers to win at the racetrack.

How the hell was Moonraker better received than Casino Royale?

In bizarro land possibly.

Well this long time Bond fan thought it was one of the best of the series, official films or otherwise.

Same here...

This is my 20th Bond film that I've seen I think, and I absolutely loved it. From the themesong, to the opening credits, everything here seems to work. I was especially happy that we got to see James Bond play cards again, it feels like its been so long since he's done that. Very, very fun film!

A-

Add me to that.

Agreed, almost too good a scene for a Bond movie. Indeed, i really enjoyed watching these two together, listening to their verbal intercourse, a very well handled relationship... up to the point where Bond gets all lovey-dovey and quits his job to spent the rest of his life together with the woman of his dreams - i just didn't buy it. Dunno, it went too quickly from an attraction to a full blown life-changing commitment, which made it feel artificial, forced. They should have spent a little more time flashing that out or not going in that direction at all. A shame really as otherwise it was a very good movie (although with parts that dragged a bit), with Craig as an all around great, more human, Bond (one hell of a tough motherfucker but also vulnerable) and some true highlights, like one of - if not - the best action scene of the year (bomber man chase) and the intense (and hilarius) torture scene.

Good News

It's not as bad as I anticipated

Bad News

It's not very good either

The title sequence doesn't work, neither does Eva Green. She's clearly out of her league here. Dispense with all that is Bond (gadgets, girls, one-liners) and you know what's left? Neither do I. The story is ho-hum and when compared to the last Bond restart Goldeneye, well, you can't even compare the two.

Daniel Craig actually was much better than I expected. With the right film, who knows what could happen.

I fully expect the next film to do away with this back to basics foolishness and get back to Bond.

C

Well it was the better of the two I've seen (Die Another Die being the other)...heh.

I agree Eva Green was a little miscast, but she was convincing and great until the romance part. But as far as gadgets and one liners. This was easily one of the best James Bond film for one liners. Why, because many of them were actually funny and charming.

They werent hokey like Roger Moore (that even Arnold Schwarzenegger on his best day could say) There were more than enough gadgets. The medical stuff, the bug, trackers, flashlight bomb. I havent seen this bond with as many good one liners that werent cheesy or forced since Connery.

"I got an Itch" "To the Right" "Yes, considerably" "If you were just born, you'd be naked" "That last hand nearly killed me"

Im tired, but I found this to be one of the best quotable Bonds of all time. And it was nothing like the Bourne films.

An amazing coincidence! All the pre-release publicity for a high profile movie like this is very specific in telling viewers how to think about it. In the case of Casino Royale, we were told that we were going back to the "true" Bond. We were to let go of the entire movie mythology of Bond built up over 40 years, and buy a straight action Bond. The gadgets and humor were simply aberrations that have now been corrected. The hype tells us that this new Bond is a new and improved Bond product that we should buy with enthusiasm. Throw out your old Bond, because the new Bond will get your clothes whiter.

Well, guess what? Many viewers are parroting back those same lines from the publicity packages. Some are buying new Bond by the caseload. And I suppose you can be philosophical about it -- if someone has been effectively convinced to believe that they love something, is that any different from true love? Probably not. And I would never hope to take anyone's enjoyment of any movie away, but it remains to observe an amazing coincidence...

"That last hand... nearly killed me" was my favorite line. So great.

My two nephews also watched it yesterday, 12 and 13 years old. I asked the 13 year old how was it, and he said it was very unrealistic.

I thought that was hilarious.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings...

my other nephew out of the blue this morning told me it wasn't a real Bond film because of the lack of Bond bitches.

Vespa, had sub-par looks. The hot Indian never sealed the deal, and the blonde didn't really do anything.

So you thought it was realisitc? Has your nephew ever seen a Bond film, or just Die Another Day.

I dont get this whole "New bond" its the same bond thats the truest to the Connery films. In which 007 was actually smart and resourceful and didnt always rely on gadgets and cars. He used his skills as a detective, and an obiously trained agent. while remaining charming.

The only real difference was the fact that Bond was a real tough son of a bitch in this one. It was nice to see that Craig would get bloody and could actually do convincing fighting. It was boring watching Brosnan walk away without a scratch, or Roger Moore falling onto more tables than I've ever seen (I dont think he ever did anything more than a light jog) Connery at least could fight and made it convincing.

This film was anything from convincing though. It may be a less outlandish 007 film than some were used to. But it was no Saving Private Ryan. There were a lot of moments that would never happen.

I didn't think it was particularly realistic. Not Bourne realistic.

He's seen many 007 films, not just the Brosnan films.

There's clearly a segment of moviegoers interested in this type of generic spy action movie -- the producers only mistake was using the Bond brand name...