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I was beginning to wonder if James Bond was dead, but along comes Daniel Craig to breathe new life into the role, giving us a lean, mean 007 that blows previous Bonds away. Martin Campbell went back to the basics, retooling Bond and giving him a much more physical presence, reminiscent of Sean Connery. From the opening sequence we see we are in for a real treat, as Campbell takes nothing for granted. He knows he has to earn the audience's respect, and he does with a thrilling chase scene in the chaotic urban center of an African republic.

Bond really comes across as a rogue agent in Casino Royale, stealing his way into M's apartment to leave her coded messages, taking risks that threaten painstaking operations and getting himself into jams that require MI6 to bail him out. This is a young impetuous Bond, overanxious and thrilling to watch as Craig fills his role with the energy of a stage actor.

There is also one of the best villains in recent years with Mads Mikkelsen as the cold blooded Le Chiffre. He heads an international cartel not so much bent on world destruction as on taking advantage of the chaos in which we live. He is a much more believable villain than Spectre and relies on much simpler methods of getting his piece of flesh from someone.

It is also refreshing to see Bond have a real love interest in Eva Green, not the usual banter that rings hollow. Bond is not afraid to expose himself in this movie, revealing a much more vulnerable figure than we have seen before.

MI6 also finds itself as a much more porous organization, capable of being infiltrated so that Bond doesn't know who to trust in key moments. All he has is the support of M, played to deadpan perfection by Judi Dench.

Everything about this movie is fresh and clean, including the opening credits. Bond hasn't looked this good since the early films in the series with Sean Connery. There is even an amusing scene where Bond wins a 1964 Aston Martin in a poker game, a tip of the hat to Goldfinger.

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I loved the first Blu-Ray edition. I have not seen the Collector's Edition yet, but they have added so much more to this. I got this from the BluRay.com website....

*Bonus View Picture-in-Picture visual commentary with Director Martin Campbell and Producer Michael G. Wilson (BD Exclusive)

*"Know Your Double-O" the Ultimate James Bond Trivia Quiz, a BD-Live enabled multi-skill level, multi-player trivia game (BD Exclusive)

Documentaries

*Ian Fleming's Incredible Creation A remarkable look at the birth and continued success of James Bond, including never-before-revealed information about Bond's creator and the origins of 007.

*The Road to Casino Royale The story of why it took over 50 years for the Bond filmmakers to bring Ian Fleming's first 007 novel to the big screen, featuring the amazing behind-the-scenes stories of the many attempts to make the film.

*James Bond in the Bahamas A fascinating examination of the links between the the cinematic Bond and the Bahamas, with never-before-told behind-the-scenes stories from Casino Royale, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, For Your Eyes Only and The World Is Not Enough.

*Ian Fleming: The Secret Road to Paradise A revealing exploration of the world of James Bond's creator. In this documentary, discover why Ian Fleming was drawn to the Bahamas, and learn the cinematic Casino Royale's unique link to an important chapter in 007's secret history.

*Death in Venice A break down of one of the key scenes in the film.

*Becoming Bond An intimate look at how Daniel Craig stepped into the role of James Bond.

*James Bond: For Real A behind-the-scenes look at the ground-breaking action and the stunts in Casino Royale.

*Bond Girls Are Forever An extended version of the 2002 AMC television special, with new footage and interviews of the new Bond Girls.

---Featurettes---

*The Art of Freerunning An in-depth look at the freerunning chase and the freerunning technique with the sport's founder, Sebastien Foucan.

---Filmmaker Profiles: in-depth conversations with key creative forces behind Casino Royale, including never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage:

*Martin Campbell, Director

*Chris Corbould, Special Effects

*Phil Meheux, Director of Photography

*Gary Powell, Stunt Coordinator

*Alexander Witt, Second Unit Director

*David Arnold, Composer

---Deleted/Extended Scenes---

"Rescue & Recovery"

"Squandering Government Funds"

"Cricket Pavilion"

"Gettler Raises Bond's Suspicions"

---Storyboard Sequence---

Freerunning Chase -Watch the storyboards presented in animatic form, or view them in comparison to the finished film sequence.

---Scene Deconstruction---

Catching a Plane: From Storyboard to Screen, featuring outtakes and never-before-seen footage.

---Music Video: Chris Cornell "You Know My Name"

---Crew Commentary: Audio Commentary with scene-specific comments and observations from many of Casino Royale's creative team.

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I like James Bond as much as the next guy. I've read a couple of Ian Fleming's novels, have seen all the films (many in the theater), and have all the box set DVDs. I don't consider myself obsessive, however, Bond to me has always been a bit of a lark--adrenaline style entertainment. From the serious Bond to the cheesy Bond, there's always some action or outrageousness to admire. So I was mystified when so many people were absolutely indignant that Daniel Craig was signed for the role. I'm not saying I supported the ouster of Brosnan, I'm just saying I was pleased that a talented actor was taking his place. And the idea of rebooting the series wasn't controversial to me, but an ingenious way to reinvigorate the franchise.

Now having seen "Casino Royale," I stand firm in my opinion that Craig makes an excellent 007 (even though he's blonde and not Clive Owen). He demonstrates a real brashness as the newly promoted Bond--defiant, cocky and tough as nails. But the character has many shadings which Craig pulls off effortlessly. The flirtatious womanizer, the tender romantic, the brutal killer, and the betrayed lover are all well played and believable. He inhabits Bond with a realness, a personality--it's more than the casual quip, there's something going on in his brain. But maybe Craig's strongest asset is his physicality. Not only has he given Bond emotional resonance, but his physical presence make his action scenes and tough guy performance much more realistic.

The movie's plot is somewhat superfluous to me--it's a pretty standard setup. The film kicks off with a tremendously staged chase, however. The stunts and choreography are excellent--it's exciting when necessary and amusing where appropriate. You know instantly that you're in for a thrill ride. As we settle in for the main story, Bond meets with Vesper Lynd--played by Eva Green. Green is a good match for Craig, and her character is written well--their relationship can be surprisingly sweet. The major plot point revolves around a poker game which Bond must win. Within this card game, an interesting psychological contest is developed with the villain. I liked the blend of action and cunning gameplay.

The third act for me, while necessary to the development of Bond's character, did play on a little long and held no real surprises. But that said, it was particularly well acted. Overall, I found the Bond reboot amazingly successful. Craig makes Bond human again and ruthless, too. Recommended as a solid action picture, and one of the stronger entries in the series! KGHarris, 11/06.

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I saw this movie in the cinema and was eagerly awaiting the Blu-Ray release. After viewing the disc played back on my Panasonic BD Player and viewing on a 50" Pioneer plasma along with the 5.1 LPCM soundtrack I can say that this movie blew me away. Not only is this the best Bond movie to date but the transfer on Blu-Ray disc is top notch. The picture is STUNNING to say the least with every possible detail replayed in crystal clear HD and the sound is unbelievable... If you are a fan of this movie and you have a Blu-Ray set-up then I recommend you order this title today if you don't already have it in your collection.

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There was never any doubt in my mind that Daniel Craig would make a sterling James Bond as I have seen most of his edgy, out of the box film roles in "Layer Cake," The Mother," Sylvia," "Munich," "Road to Perdition" to name several. Craig is and has always had weight, focus and importance on the screen. And as James Bond he brings all of these qualities to bear and "Casino Royale" is the better for it.

Many actors were rumored to have been considered for the re-inventing of James Bond and Daniel Craig was not a popular choice but his interpretation here should put all the naysayers at bay for Craig more than re-invents...he makes this part his own.

Martin Campbell ("Goldeneye," "Beyond Borders") stays clear of all the wham-bam, thank you M'am special effects of all the former James Bond films and concentrates on the things that make all films important: character, relationships and emotional commitment.

The James Bond of "Casino Royale" (it was the first in Ian Fleming's series of books on Bond) has just been given the so-called honor of the "007" impranteur and, though he has been an operative for a time, he is still considered the odd man out, the dangerous one, the one who will stop at nothing to solves his cases. On the surface this would seem like the ideal government spy but the operative word here is "government," the biggest block of bureaucracy there ever is or was and as such "it" requires Bond to follow procedure as M (Judi Dench) reminds him time and again.

The Bond of "Casino Royale"is physical, violent, without too much conscience, sexy, fit: more likely to kick you in the groin than serve you a glass of White Burgundy. But this Bond also has a heart and, though he has a couple of dalliances with women, he makes a real connection to one in particular, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. Though I would have liked somone with a warmer, cushier screen presence than Green, this romance also sets up what is to become of Bond, romance-wise for the rest of the Bond series of novels and, I assume....films.

The action sequences are personal and physical (the kind that you never saw Brosnan do) as well as excitingly staged and produced. "Casino Royale" marks a change of direction and focus of the Bond franchise and from the evidence on the screen, I would have to say it looks like the producers have a winner in Daniel Craig and a homerun in their first outing with him.

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This new "Special Edition" is a watered down version of last year's Anniversary Edition. Usually this is a bad thing. However, since Universal can't seem to figure out how to make a DVD-18 work properly, it's actually good they have seen fit to release this title as a single-sided, dual-layered DVD. Unfortunately, in doing so they have dropped most of the extras found on the Anniversary Edition. Still found on this release are the deleted scenes, the commentary and one of the featurettes.

Why they didn't decide to do 2 DVD-9's for this is beyond comprehension, but at least they've dropped the list price a few dollars.

My rating is for the overall the release, although in my opinion both the film and the transfer on this release get 5 stars. Colors are vivid and rich, and detail is very fine.

In closing, if you're not a "special features" junkie, definitely get this release, as it's much more likely to play properly. If you must have the Anniversary Edition, make sure you play the disc right away, because most likely, it will have problems.

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I was born in Chicago, and my father went to Stienmetz high school with Tony Spilotro, the mobster portrayed in this film by Joe Pesci. I grew up listening to stories about "the Ant" (not flattering), and when he was finally whacked, my old man (a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times) wrote what amounted to his obitiuary. In it he recalled such charming Spilotro antics as the time he threw acid at a girl who had rebuffed his advances and the time he tried to split open my dad's head, and thus prevent my birth, with a T-square during shop class. To top it off, I recently discovered my Dad's old yearbook (1955 or so), in which he and the future boss of Las Vegas are standing in true 1950s glory (slicked hair, plaid shirts, everybody wearing horn-rimmed glasses) next to each other on picture day.

So I guess you could say I had a personal interest in seeing how Marty Scorcese and his "Goodfellas" crew would tackle the subject of transplanted Chicago mobsters in the neon desert. My final verdict: they all did a hell of a job.

Pesci, as "Nicky Salerno" (all the names have been changed to protect the guilty) is just as horrifying and vicious here as he was as "Tommy DiVito" in "Goodfellas"; Pugnacious, bloodthirsty, bad-tempered, arrogant, and paranoid, but also capable of humor, loyalty and a certain weird charm. Some would say he was just playing the same character again, and yeah, he is, but he's so damn good at it, who cares?

Bobby D is superb (what else?) as "Ace Rothstien" -the micro-managing, ego-maniacial Chicago handicapper and casino boss who trades in on his friendship with mobsters to become a big time player in Vegas, and promptly realizes he's let the snake in the manger. Nicky is what mobsters call a "Cowboy" -a crazy, reckless hoodlum who thinks with his fists (or his gun, or the sharp end of a pen, or a telephone, or whatever's handy) and creates more wreckage than profit. He also attracts the attention of the Feds and the Nevada Gaming Commission, who soon make Ace's life miserable, and more importantly, begin to interfere with the Mob's ability to "skim" Casino profits back to Chicago. And if you know anything about the Outfit (as it is called there), you know N O B O D Y is going to interfere with their profits and get away unscathed.

"Casino" is one of those movies where you watch bad guys get their hands on something really big, and drive it straight into the ground. Things blow up, people get beaten and whacked, fortunes are made and squandered, and monster egos crash against each other like bumper cars. There are many similiarities to "Goodfellas" except the stakes are much higher, and like "Goodfellas" there is not a character you really can root for -Ace is miserly, controlling, egocentric and arrogant, Nicky is a straight up homicidal maniac, and Stone's character is your typical scheming, treacherous hooker-hustler. A lot of people felt this movie was the same thing, with the same cast, done not quite as well, and indeed, "Casino" is not as good as "Fellas" but it is a very good movie all the same. If "Fellas" had never been made, this might be a top-5 Mob movie of all time. I recommend it to anyone with a gangland fetish, 80's nostalgia and strong stomach.

And by the way, the actor Frank Vincent, who gets revenge on Pesci in this film (with a baseball bat) for twice getting the best of him in previous Scorsese movies ("Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas"), actually bears a stronger resemblance to the real Tony Spilotro than Joe Pesci does....wierd.

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Casino is nothing less than a Scorcese masterpiece, based primarily on the true story of the violent life and death of Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, who was the mob's chief enforcer during the early 70's, while protecting the mob's gambling interests run by Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. As someone interested in the development of the American mafia, Casino is a brilliant translation of the building of Bugsy Siegel's vision in the desert up to the gaudy haven for high rollers that it was during the 70s. This movie brings the dusty pages of Las Vegas history to life. Spilotro was the real thing; Joe Pesci gives us only a taste of how brutal he really was. His death in a mid-west cornfield was the final act of this particular chapter in Las Vegas history. This is perhaps Scorsese's most underrated film, Casino contains one of De Niro's finest performances--his Sam Rothstein is controlled, nuanced, quiet, contemplative, depressed, ambitious, and furious. De Niro plays all these sentiments at once, and he ultimately creates a character that may not be Scorsese's most likable but is certainly his most mesmerizingly believable. The film's rare dual voiceover is so well executed, as Pesci and De Niro's characters fight for control over the storytelling just as they battle for power over Vegas. This film is flamboyantly stylized-In many ways it is about style. There are as many flashy whip-turns and ironic soundtrack selections as there are peach blazers and white pantent leather loafers. If you want a film that is at once great entertainment and moving art, watch Casino, and let Scorsese transport you back to a rare moment in American history: "The last time tough guys like us we're ever given anything that 'effing' valuable."

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The movie is without doubt a perfect union with mean streets and goodfellas. But let's face it, why do we click into a certian HD DVD on amazon, we know whether or not we like the movie, right? We want the goods on the picture quality! Let me tell you something even if you can't take the needed violence in this movie, get it. Even if you can't stand all the foul language, get it. Even if you think Sharon Stone got her acting degree out of a cereal box, get it! Let me tell you something, this three hour epic looks mind numbingly stunning. I literally sat in awe at the sheer beauty of it, I mean what could possibly show of HD DVD picture quality than vegas' bright lights and scorsese' masterful direction? Casino, that's what. Do yourself a favor and get this disc right now because if you don't; Nicky will come back with a bat and if you beat him with a bat, he'll come back with a knife and you beat him with a knife, he'll come back with a gun and if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him because he'll keep comin' back, and back until one of you is dead.

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I mean that statement in two ways. First, in my humble opinion, this is Martin Scorcese at his finest. This is better than Goodfellas by a wide margin. All of the regulars give awesome performances in this (even Sharon Stone, who I can't stand!). If you like mafia pictures, this is the BEST one to own. I also mean that it's a great picture due to the fact that it's on HD-DVD. The picture is astonishingly vivid and clear and the lights of Las Vegas really jump out of the television. It's almost 3-D ! The extras are ample, but I'd say adequate. That's the reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5. There is the obligitory commentary, deleted scenes, and a couple featurettes. It's all whipped cream and a cherry on top of an excellent sundae ! I do like that you can watch the extras and the movie at the same time with commentary running. This and Batman Begins are the reasons you should own an HD DVD player ! Note: I have the HD DVD drive attached to my Xbox 360 and it works brilliantly !