This past weekend I gave up the opportunity to wait in line in the cold for a chance at getting my hands on a Wii to see the new Bond -- Casino Royale.

This reboot for the franchise stars Daniel Craig as 007, and he plays him much different than any other. He plays him like a fucking gorilla. He's built like a gorilla, he walks like a gorilla, he fights like a gorilla, he even busts through walls like a fucking silver back gorilla.

Martin Campbell directs, as he did for Goldeneye, the first Brosnan outting. The photography is simply gorgeous, which makes the story and set up for the action well worth sitting through. Which gets to the subtitle of this entry. Like any porn, it's all about the payoff. Of course to be a good porn the setup needs to at least somewhat add to said payoff. And with this "Balls to the Wall" action flick, the setup makes the action somewhat more relevant. (and let's face it, generally most action in movies could easily be removed without sacrificing much from the understanding of the plot.)

Bond is in rare form in this outing. He's more than just an unflinching, mysogonistic killer. He feels and cares for the bond girl, he wants her to want him and has a rather touching moment late in the film that I still can't shake from my memory.

If they continue in this direction with the franchise, then the next outing should hopefully be able to beat a CG movie about dancing penguins at the box office.