CASINO ROYALE is out, and after seeing it I can say one thing without fear of retribution or reprisal: Daniel Craig is going to be the best Bond since Connery.

Those who think I'm jumping on the newly-built "Craig is Great" bandwagon should look back at prior Blog posts where I repeatedly build him up as a GREAT choice for 007. Some actors have that elusive "It" quality, and Craig has more of "It," meaning charisma and screen presence, than ANY single Bond actor--EVER. More than Connery, more than Brosnan.

The only other actor that I think makes the same sort of impact these days is Clive Owen, who had also been rumoured (note the 'u,' Anglophiles) to be up for the role. Owen would have been terrific. But Craig may be better.

Because this movie is about Bond BEFORE he was Bond. And for that, I think you really need to cast against type. Craig is blond, sneering, tough, and rough. He's not polished or suave in his roles--rather, he usually has an underlying though noticeable brutish quality about him.

Yep, I'm crowing a bit. But after weathering to all the complaints about Craig's casting, I think I deserve it. Now, if only they could write a better plot, and what the hell was that stuff with the building in Venice sinking into a canal at the end....?