Casino Royale - Great, spectacular, extremely entertaining. First off, the opening credits were innovative and fresh, and I enjoyed them more than any other credit scene in any movie. Also, the first chase scene is straight-up action and badass-ness, so after the first twenty minutes I knew this movie would be a winner.

What a great 'beginning' to the James Bond story. Since I'm a guy, we'll first look at the 'Bond Girls.' Caterina Murino was kinda hot until she opened her mouth, for two reason. A) Her accent sucks and is annoying, and B) she has really messed up teeth. Thankfully, Eva Green, who plays Bond's first (ever) and last (ever) romance, is gorgeous, in a very unique way (which is sure to be pointed out in the movie itself). Despite her being physically beautiful, she's also mysterious and strangely charismatic; however, that doesn't change the one flaw of the movie - buying the romance between her and Bond is hard to do. It seems forced at some points, and towards the end, the small interlude is definitely the weak point of the film.

Daniel Craig fits into the James Bond persona perfectly, and based solely on this movie, I'd put him as my third favorite (after Connery and Roger Moore, respectively). He plays a flawed Bond, a novice, arrogant, self-absorbed character whose cocky attitude gets him into a lot of trouble. Nothing is ever more interesting to watch than a flawed character overcome his weaknesses and become stronger in the end, and this movie puts things into place very well for the rest of the franchise (even explaining how and why he drinks his martinis the way he does).

Being a James Bond movie, it's not too hard to see the plot twists coming, because you know they're going to come, and can usually predict when, it's just a matter of what twist is going to happen. Given that everyone and their mother is suspecting everyone and their mother to be a 'bad guy,' the story still manages to keep at least a few scenes ahead of the audience. Plus, what's the point of going to a movie just to try to figure stuff out ahead of time? Doing so just makes you look like a jackass, and ruins the movie for you anyway. There's a difference between crappy writing, where you can't help knowing what happens next, and good writing where you think more about trying to be ahead of the game than enjoying the excessive action right in front of you.

Sorry, random digression.

This movie was just as good as I expected it to be. Lots of actions, a good plot, some pretty girls, and some long-term explanations. I miss John Cleese, but oh well, we can't have everything. Very enjoyable.

Rating: 8.5/10