The golden green jungles of Uganda introduce the shift to color and the villain, Le Chiffre, taking a seriously large cash investment from Steven Obanno (Isaach De Bankolé, 'The Skeleton Key,' 'Miami Vice'), while off the continent's coast Bond trails Mollaka (Le Parkour stuntman Sebastien Foucan), a link to the lethal lynch pin. But this is not the 1950s - this is a post 9/11 Bond and in a slick silvery scene intercut with a grittier, grainer flashback sequence, we see Bond earn his stripes - the double kill an agent needs for his double '0' status. Rather than the over the top stunt sequence which recent editions have opened with, we're plunked outside a gray building in Prague in a black and white sequence that recalls the Cold War. Right from the opening credit animation one can feel both the comfort of something familiar and the excitement of something new. 'Casino Royale' is one of 2006's best adult entertainments.
The new Bond is at least as good as perennial favorite Sean Connery in the role, and his first vehicle, thrillingly directed by series vet Martin Campbell ('GoldenEye,' 'The Mask of Zorro'), is the bracing breath of fresh air Bond has been gasping for. After enduring months of media and fan bashing, British actor Daniel Craig must be having the heartiest last laugh of his life.
