New Age Bond

"The name's Bond - James Bond."
Taratara, tarara ...
Or has the script now been rewritten?
"The Name's M - Dial M for Mean Machine, Money Penny, or .... Mummy?"
Man, wish I was born a Man, wish I was born M!
M got to give orders to Bond, M got to be Angels' Charlie to 007, M got to bed a hunk while giving orders to Bond!
Kudos to Judi Dench as M, Daniel Craig as Bond, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, other actors in the cast and the creators of the New Version of Bond Movie - Casino Royale/21.
It was indeed well worth RM8 and precious 'leisuretime' being in the company of the Delightful Dench, Cute Craig, Gorgeous Green and Mean Mikkelsen.
After years of Bond Bashing, I finally succumbed to the charms of the first blonde, blue-eyed Brit super spy, like .... Vesper to Bond!
Of cos, there's still some residual Hero-Villain, Virgin-Whore, First World-Third World dichotomy, but Craig's Bond is no longer stuck in the 60s' transmission. He takes orders from a Womyn, he's willing to give up his 'day job' to be a 'house husband' to Vesper (V for Vendetta? And P for Purr?), and after going thru an evolution from a cold-blooded killer to a 'gentleman spy', he's almost a Dalai Lama!
Bond (B for Ballistic Bullets?) is not the only character to have undergone transformation. The Bond Girl has undergone a much-needed reinvention as well - Vesper "is also no mere bimbo; she is a mature woman -- a professional and every bit Bond's mental equivalent."
"After beating Le Chiffre at a high stake cards game, Bond finds himself tied naked to a chair, facing toture" or, in his own words, "having his balls scratched".
"What ultimately results from this turn of events is something the misogynistic, sexual conquistador Bond never thought he'd fall victim to: love.
"Unable to use the golden gun in his pants for quite awhile, the recuperating Bond genuinely and deeply falls in love with Vesper and they plan on a new life together. She has stripped him of his emotional armor. But before you can never say never again, Bond realizes the bad guys are not quite done with him yet. By the end, Bond is becoming the icy, lethal secret agent -- "the blunt instrument" that Fleming envisioned -- that men want to be and women want to be with.
"The action sequences -- several of which, like the opening parkour set-piece, must be seen to be believed -- are breathtaking and return Bond to his down and dirty roots. There hasn't been a truly vicious brawl in the Bond films since Sean Connery and Robert Shaw duked it out in From Russia With Love. Now Casino Royale shows the new Bond can kill barehanded as efficiently as he can with a Walther PPK or a tricked-out Aston Martin.
"As solidly crafted as the story and direction are, it is the performances that ultimately make Casino Royale work so well. Craig is a revelation as 007, making the role his own without losing any of the traits that have made James Bond such an icon.
"Craig gives a nuanced, fully realized portrayal. He is not just standing around in a tux, smirking and tossing off one-liners while judo-chopping some dime-a-dozen henchmen. Craig's 007 is a finely tuned machine who is absolutely believable as someone who could clear a room, and as a cold, hardened man who has buried his heart as far away from harm as possible. Fleming would be proud.
"Likewise, Green -- who won the role after a long, highly publicized casting search -- may have just become the Bond leading lady to beat. She may not have the catchy moniker of Pussy Galore, the curves of Honey Ryder or the distinction of being Mrs. James Bond like Tracy di Vicenzo had, but Vesper is the only woman that the onscreen 007 has met thus far that you'd believe could have such a profound and lasting impact on him. That she never scampers around semi-nude only adds to the gravitas that makes her character so attractive.
"The rest of the cast are top-notch as well. After surviving King Arthur, Mikkelsen finally gets his stateside breakthrough here as Le Chiffre. He is ice, ice baby and, refreshingly, a villain whose motives and methods are real and that much more frightening. Jeffrey Wright makes for a great Felix Leiter, Bond's CIA "cousin;" fans will be chomping at the bit to see these two reunited in future sequels. Caterina Murino is sexy yet understated as Solange, Bond's first romantic conquest. Isaach De Bankolé (last seen in Miami Vice) is frightening as Le Chiffre's client Obanno, while Giancarlo Giannini brings a wry wit and world-weariness to his role as Bond's contact, Mathis.
"The heart of Casino Royale -- both the novel and the film -- is the love story between Bond and Vesper. Thankfully, the filmmakers have pulled it off with class and heart. But the point of Fleming's story was always about how Bond -- after suffering at the hands of Le Chiffre and then facing even greater pain later -- realizes his place in the world and that he must go after the threat behind the threat. In other words, James Bond literally and figuratively gets his balls back, and that testicular fortitude is exactly what this 44-year-old franchise has needed for many years now."
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/casino_royale