Casino Royale

As reboots go, this is probably the best I've seen. Daniel Craig takes up the mantle of Ian Fleming's "007" in this two-part thriller that starts off at break neck speed and rarely drops below third gear for almost 2½ hours. Having just attained his licence to kill status - after disposing of the double-crossing "Dryden" (Malcolm Sinclair), he is now hot on the trail of a courier in an African republic. After a chase of pretty epic proportions that sees them leaping from buildings and cranes before "Bond" finally manages to trash an embassy, he obtains a cellphone with just one word. What does it mean? Well now he must use all of his roughly hewn skills to find out - a challenge that takes him via the Bahamas to Miami where he has two thwart a daring attack at the airport on a brand new airliner, that would bankrupt the manufacturer and make someone $100m. That someone is now seriously annoyed - and in quite considerable danger themselves, so phase two of the story starts - and this is where it gets interesting. Off to the beautiful land of Montenegro for the ultimate game of poker. Staked by a rather wary HM Government, he is put in the capable hands of "Vesper" (Eva Green) and with the help of local fixer "Mathis" (Giancarlo Giannini) faces his new nemesis "Le Schifre" (Mads Mikkelsen). Quite literally - winner takes all. The story here is strong, the plot has twists - especially towards the end; there is loads of action, gadgets - a cracking Aston Martin; and loads of glamour. That latter element was largely missing during the Dalton/Brosnan eras for this suave and debonaire super-spy. Craig exudes a classiness about him, and Green likewise as she quickly realises that his is a dangerous business. Mikkelsen makes for a good baddie - so much of his acting is done through his expressions, and here he radiates a sort of measured menace that proves quite effective as the story reaches it's rather painful climax! David Arnold has written a score that nods to the John Barry sweeping and orchestral style of the early films and the writing doesn't waste time trying with the puerile double-entendres that dogged some of the earlier outings for "Bond". The one man missing, rather notably, is "Q" and "Moneypenny" has become a bloke called "Villiers" (Tobias Menzies) working for Dame Judi Dench's no-nonsense "M". The denouement is as action packed as the rest of it, and it introduces us to the idea that there is an organisation out there guiding so much of the criminal fraternity. A spectre of things to come, perhaps? Let's hope this is a sign of a new and improved vivacity for this tiring franchise. This is a very good re-start.