The Name's Trimble...Mick Trimble

Me and my offspring went to see Casino Royale today. After an argument with the wanker behind the counter over whether 11-year-olds are allowed in when accompanied by an adult (which I won) we sat down to watch what is probably the best 007 film since On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Even though I'm kind of the right age, look the part and have dark hair, I'm still waiting for Dana Broccoli to get in touch and offer me the part. Their loss. While I wait for my stint in the tuxedo, Daniel Craig can keep it warm for me. He is excellent as 007. The fact that he is not physically the stereotypical Bond means that you don't automatically compare him to Sean Connery, as you do with every other actor who has wielded the Walther.(Like the hair colour was that important anyway. Roger Moore's hair was a kind of sandy brown and Connery's hair depended on what shop he bought it from.) Craig has an edge to him, you think he can and will kill if he has to, something missing from Moore's Bond. He has the haircut an ex-military man would have, not the cut and blow dry Brosnan had. Craig's 007 is a come-and-have-a-go Bond, an aggressive hard bastard, who is not the indestructible superspy yet, but vulnerable emotionally, and is always bleeding and bruised when he has a fight. This is a Bond film with a heart, but this doesn't mean the action is lacking. The Parkour sequence in Madagascar is ridiculously exciting. The chase to stop a terrorist bomber in Miami's airport is breathtaking. The 'sinking house' scene in Venice is also very well done. The fights are very violent and make you wince sometimes. Speaking of wincing, the famous 'knacker smacking' torture scene from the novel has survived the adaptation to the silver screen. Casino Royale isn't flawless, however. The bad guy, Le Chiffre, isn't up there with the likes of Goldfinger or Blofeld, as he's a bit of a wimp, and his ability to weep blood is creepy. The film has a lot of plot, so it's too long, and the theme song isn't very good. And the whole continuity thing has gone out the window (007's just starting out, but M's the same one he has in the last film, it's contemporary setting, etc.,etc.) . But as an attempt to drag Bond into the 21st century, it succeeds admirably.