"That was totally wicked!"

Yesterday I went to see the new James Bond movie, "Casino Royale", with the new guy Daniel Craig. In the past, any time a new Bond actor came along he was often greeted less than enthusiastically. "Well, he's ok, but he's not as good a Connery", is a typically review. I must say that I was impressed. Craig plays Bond very similar to Connery: he's not as slick as Moore or Brosnan, but still has style, and is nastier and colder, just as you would expect from someone who is essentially an assassin. I think Mr. Craig pulled it off brilliantly. He's as good if not better than Connery, but I didn't feel he was trying to copy him. I hope he sticks around the franchise for a while.
As for the movie itself: an excellent Bond film. It had more of the feel of some of the early films, not as flashy/comic-book-like as later ones. There are still gadgets, but nothing implausible. Things like bio-monitor implants, cell phone tracking, cell phone activated bombs which are certainly up to date, but not fantasy items. The action sequences were amazing! I've seen a lot of action movies in my time but this stuff really thrilled my old, jaded self. Some of the stunt work alone is worth the ticket price (the foot chase through the construction site at the beginning has to be seen!).
The women (a Bond film staple) are certainly up to par as well. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
And I must mention the cars. In a nice tip-o'-the-hat to the old films, there is a rather nice 1964 Aston Martin DB5 just like the one in Goldfinger.

But the thing that stirred my lust was the absolutely gorgeous DBS. God, but that is one beautiful car! The sound of it tearing out of a parking lot in one scene actually gave me shivers! They didn't have nearly enough of it for my liking.

No, the film wasn't perfect. There were a couple of slower bits, but these are greatly overshadowed by the rest of the film.
Anyway, if you're a Bond fan or ever have been, SEE THIS MOVIE!