Blonde is the New Bond

You'd think on a Tuesday night, you could score a decent seat at the movies, equidistant from the front, back, left, and right sides of the theater. No one sitting too close to you so you wouldn't have to feel bad about mocking all the romantic comedy previews. Not in LA. Not with all this Bond-mania going on. I have to admit, I fell victim to the franchise's brilliant marketing techniques. Not only has it successfully wooed me into the theater for 11 bucks a pop (for a blockbuster action flick, no less), but the recurring product placement had my mind on Sony Ericssons, Aston Martins, Omega watches, and even vodka martinis. Damn, this new 007 makes everything look good.

When I first learned that they had cast Daniel Craig for this role I thought, What? A blonde Bond? And when I started seeing the trailers with him emerging from the ocean with his Adonis-like physique, paying homage to the infamous Honey Rider scene from Dr. No I thought, What? A buff Bond? I wasn't too crazy about him, until I realized that I had never liked the slick-shoes, slow-moving Bonds of old anyhow. So the idea of a new, edgier Bond really grew on me. This is one serious ass-kicking 007. Not only that, but he manages to maintain the usual charm of the character while bringing a brooding darkness to the role. I found him to be the most intriguing (and sexiest!) Bond to date. Having the newest Bond girl, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) by his side didn't hurt either. Casting a 26-year-old, fair-skinned, waifish French actress as a Bond girl seemed like a less than obvious choice, but there is a truly enigmatic quality to Vesper Lynd that Eva Green captures almost effortlessly. Once hailed by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci as being "so beautiful it's indecent", Eva Green does not play your typical Bond girl. More gamine than femme fatale, Vesper Lynd (James Bond's first true love) is refreshingly intelligent and vulnerable, unlike past bimbo-like love interests. It was as if the role was tailor-made for the actress, whose presence is so alluring I couldn't take my eyes off of her anytime she was onscreen. And the chemistry between her and Daniel Craig is seductive without being lusty.

At one point, the film does become a bit heavy on the romance, which almost ruined the whole thing for me. But don't lose your lunch--sit through it and it eventually makes perfect sense. Casino Royale has most of the cool stuff from traditional Bond films (i.e. Le Chiffre--a bastard of a villain who weeps blood!), but with a lot less cheese. If you like your Bond hokey, cliche, and superficial, just stay home and watch SpikeTV. If you don't give a damn whether your vodka martini is shaken or stirred, go ahead and pay the outrageous ticket prices. It's worth it to finally see a more human Bond come to life on the big screen.