Die Another Day pretty much served as the the nail in the coffin with regards to James Bonds reputation; the silliness had verged too far, the jokes felt at odds odds with the modern era, the action redundant and implausible. And in the wake of fresh, frantically paced - and shaky cam-reliant - action movies like The Bourne Identity, in 2006 it really did feel like time for a major overhaul. Enter the effortlessly cool Daniel Craig as a modern, rugged take on Bond, and Casino Royale, arguably the best and greatest 007 entry of all-time. And certainly, despite its many achievements the casting of Craig was a masterstroke; Eva Green is smoking hot as heroine Vesper Lynd - its the inspired action sequence that will stick in your memory. Indeed, Casino Royale based on Ian Flemings original Bond novel sees Bond traversing the globe in an effort to stop a money laundering scheme, which allows for some relentless and pulse-quickening set-pieces, the best of which features the implementation of parkour. The raw - and yet meticulously-crafted - action scenes here set the standard for a new generation of Bond films - standards that are yet to be beaten.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
