To enjoy the new James Bond film to its maximum effect it’s necessary to leave any memories of the previous 20 Bond films outside the cinema doors before you see Casino Royale, because you’ll find nothing here you’ll recognise from the past 40 years in this movie. This film exists in its own entirely new universe. It’s not so much Bond is back but this Bond has arrived for the first time, Ian Fleming’s James Bond that is. It’s appropriate that in this, the 21st Bond movie in the series that James Bond has finally come of age. I found it a similar experience to watching Dr. No over 40 years ago. There had never been anything like it before in cinema, and it shocked, impressed and entertained in equal measure and made me want to see it again and see more of this new screen character. And that’s what Daniel Craig’s James Bond is in Casino Royale, an entirely new interpretation of a screen character we all thought we knew inside out - until now!

Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have taken a bold and brave move in taking the franchise by the scruff of the neck to expertly shake the whole tired thing back to life with a movie that literally sizzles from 21st century filmmaking at its best. From the faux monochrome downbeat opening to the rich colour saturated ending of Phil Méheux’s cinematography on the shores of the breathtakingly beautiful Lake Como in Italy, the film’s 144-minute running time flies by making it feel much more like a 90-minute excursion into escapism.

Director Martin Campbell has pulled out all the stops to ensure the set pieces are breathtaking, the dialogue scenes are thoughtfully set up, and the fight scenes hurt to watch. These are as real as it gets! Gary Powell and his stunt crew pushed the envelope so far on this picture that I hope they all fully recover in time for Bond 22! This is without doubt the most violent Bond film ever made, and all the better for it (hence its 12A rating after a few cuts insisted on by the BBFC). Bond has been reclaimed for an adult audience at last, something that I and many others have missed in the series for over three decades. Young Bond readers beware! This is strong stuff and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the character in those books you’re reading! If your idea of a great Bond film is The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy or GoldenEye you may find Casino Royale a little hard on the senses.

After Daniel Kleinman’s wonderfully imaginative and refreshingly different credit titles segue into the Free Running sequence that starts the blood pumping in Casino Royale, we are immediately thrown into a visually and orally disturbing environment where a large crowd of shouting building workers are betting on a Mongoose vs. Cobra fight. When Bond’s partner accidentally gives the game away to the suspect they’re following, African terrorist Mollaka (Sébastien Foucan), Bond is forced to chase him through, over, up, and down a construction site in a chase that can only be believed when it’s seen! The dénouement of this scene is pure Bond and as cool as it gets, and also sets up a wonderful sardonic line for Bond in an unauthorised meeting between him and M, played frostily by Judi Dench in her largest and most pivotal appearance to date. Craig and Dench strike sparks off each other in their scenes which reaps great value from the dialogue, and is testament to the scriptwriting talent of Paul Haggis, Robert Wade and Neal Purvis.