New James Bond = Daniel Craig.

I've been hearing this a lot. It seems like a small concession to the realities of espionage. Who makes a better spy, a heartbreaker or an weathered average-looking bloke? I wonder if the new bond film will take a "back to basics" approach and more closely approximate the novels, which, although fantastical, had Bond engage in at least some espionage instead of just shooting it out with bad guys.

I never read it though. Stinky pages.

Casino Royale has one of the greatest opening lines in any fiction ever.

So if I go see this one in the theater, which is looking much more likely now, that'll be the first time since 1989.

Several reviewers noted one joke that deliberately breaks a Bond tradition. When asked if he wants his vodka martini shaken or stirred, Craig replies: "Do I look like I give a damn?"

"One day the time will come for a black Bond and hopefully I can audition for it," the 36-year-old said at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Copenhagen.

Diddy, who appeared in Monster's Ball in 2001, said: "It's a dream of mine to play a great role like that."

Actor Daniel Craig's first outing as 007 is later this month when Casino Royale is released.

"I love the Bond they have now," said the musician. "He's a great actor and I think they made a great choice."

The rap star - real name Sean Combs - vowed that he would keep the audience entertained if he were to land the 007 role, saying: "That's what we get paid to do."

one thing i like about casino royale the novel = bond is a RUBBISH agent who acts like an idiot throughout

he is got out of a tight spot:
i. by the incompetence of a lowly SMERSH agent
ii. by his own skeez at makin a twat of himself
iii. by the incompetent greed of a less lowly SMERSH agent
iv. by the poor briefing of a by-the-book SMERSH agent
v. by the greater honour of a SMERSH agent

END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS

in my copy, page 13 is my favourite viz:
"Satisfied that his room had not been searched while he was at the casino, Bond undressed and took a cold shower. Then he lit his seventieth cigarette of the day and sat down at the writing table..."

"Then he slept, and with the warmth and humour of his eyes extinguished, his features relapsed into a taciturn mask, ironical, brutal and cold."

neat trick!

Oh, yes that is a great reimagining of the theme. Certainly better than Chris Cornell's theme which is almost enough to stop me going to see the film.

Connery is the best at maintaining cool while surrounded by chaos - which are ultimately my favorite moments in any of the Bond movies because for all of the talk about Queen, country, duty, Bond is also just trying to do his job without getting hassled by SPECTRE or the Soviets. My fave Connery moment (out of many) is the pre-title sequence to Goldfinger when the tanks blow up and everyone in the cantina panics. Bond? He's utterly unflappable casually smoking a cigarette and taking a break before dealing with that unfinished business. He's not fully sociopathic and not completely the suave jokester, just someone who can Get Things Done.

The opposite hold true for Moore's Bond, who's more like a John Steed-type quipping his way through Situations. Moore isn't a Connery-type and shouldn't be, but it's surprising and pretty cool when he does. Fave Moore scene is in For Your Eyes Only (not surprisingly) when he kicks Locque's car over the cliff.

It's worth seeing again.

haha YES. don't forget bloodsport!!

my favorite bond movie is the one where connery has an operation to give him SLANTY EYES so he can infiltrate a group of japanese bad dudes. i think roald dahl wrote it.

Yup, just like me. And as Elvis says, the kicking the car scene is just amazing. About the only thing like it in the entire film series is in Dr. No when Connery plugs Strangways in the back, having already shot him once.

He obviously wasn't aware that there was a female head of the UK secret service before Dench got the role.

"That's detente, comrade. You don't have it. I don't have it."