If you, like me, are a fan of Ian Fleming's James Bond then you already know this. Daniel Craig has been announced as the new James Bond for the 2006 (re)release of Casino Royale.
I have no idea if he'll be good or not, but I have to think that Eon knows what they are doing. I grew up thinking of Roger Moore as 007 but have come to regard him as the character's darkest hour for most of the movies he made. With age comes wisdom, and of course the discussion will always be who was 2nd best to Sean Connery.
Casino Royale was the only Ian Fleming novel never to made into a movie by Eon. In 1967 there was a spoof based on Fleming's characters with David Niven and Peter Sellers but it was an unofficial production and an official embrassment. Fleming had sold the rights to the book to another company, and only in recent years did Eon, the "official" producer of the franchise get the rights. I applaud the decision to make the movie, because the story is less dependent on big explosions and incredulous gadgets and more on the 007 character's wits.
Frankly, I thought Pierce Brosnan could have played 007 for another time or two. I am not so snobby a purist about the character- he was pretty good in my view. I thought Timothy Dalton was not bad either, and I rather liked George Lazenby for some reason. Perhaps that is because everyone is pretty good when they are next to Diana Rigg. Early returns on Craig are that he is a poor choice. I'll withhold judgment until I see the movie.
I'll go see the new one when it comes out. But you are spot on that the judgement is who wins second place. Sean rules!! (see my list of celebrity crushes this week!!!)
Posted by: Barb | October 17, 2005 at 01:31 PM