Casino Royale - 3 1/2 Stars

The big question was can Daniel Craig fill the shoes of Sean Connery and Pierce Bronson? Well, Sean Connery is the first and original, so you can't really replace that. Pierce Bronson was a smooth guy but you can't ever imagine him fighting anyone - for real at least. Especially with the way he runs. If you don't remember, check out the films and his arm action...it's worth the rental.

Daniel Craig is one bad Mofo. He was one bad Mofo in the "Layer Cake", where he plays a mafia guy caught in the middle of a double cross between another mafia head and the police. Craig is pretty much the same character here. After seeing the movie, it becomes apparent that Daniel Craig was a very good choice for the role cause he's done it already. The trick is what he's going to do with the character in future films.

The movie has plenty of action and plenty of babes and plenty of No-Limit poker. My one gripe about the action is in the beginning. While it was awesome, it wasn't really necessity. Action is great when it comes out of the story and the characters. Action is stupid and boring when it's for action sake. When you're running away from someone, the last thing you do is go up...cause going up traps you. Well, that's what the villain does in the opening sequence.

Otherwise, the movie's a nice romp through the deconstruction of the bond character and paints a nice picture of how Bond, James Bond came to be. A very enjoyable movie worth seeing in the theaters.

3 1/2 Stars