Has anyone noticed that Casino Royale has very little replay value? When I caught it in the theater, I was stoked, but I've tried to watch it twice on DVD and couldn't do it. Nothing seemed as impressive (except the heart attack scene), and the film seemed to drag a lot. I know quite a few people who have said this. The hype might have gotten to my head. It felt even less like Bond than the first time and more like a mediocre action flick. Meanwhile, Connery's Bond films have infinite rewatchability.

Weren't there rumors that Bond 22 would be more humorous and contain more gadgets? And I wonder how Daniel Craig's string of big flops will affect his role as Bond. He's clearly not a superstar outside of this role - more of a Dalton than a Brosnan.

The Connery Bonds have an escapism quality that eludes modern day attempts.

I'm terribly excited to hear this, and I couldn't disagree more with TheDohDoh. I think CR had excellent replay value; I've enjoyed it many times. IMHO it's one of the least flawed films in the whole series. However, I have to take slight offense to the usage of MI6.co.uk as the source - but that's only because I chose sides long ago, and commanderbond.net is my darling.

I HATED BOND UNTIL CASINO ROYAL CAME OUT, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!

I have to commend the bravery of taking the hard road with this series. Bond has been an action hero for so long, fleshing him into three dimensions will be a challenge no matter what, with a lot of room to fall on either side.

To "thedohdoh"
All though maybe recently Craig has not appeared in any "fantastic" movies, "Golden Compass' weakness was down to the directing, script and editing rather than the strong cast, also "the invasion" was actually shot way before craig even landed the 007 job so that is hardly a recent project. If you take a look at his other work before that most of it is brilliant, and calling him a "dalton is a little "strange". I agree he has not had much luck of late but i feel he is still got his flare and uniqueness that gathers fans from around the world. So i would say Craig is more of a "brosnan" if not better. but hey. thats just my view.

@Izk,
Point taken. I am aware of the fall-up with The Invasion and realize it was being held until after Casino Royale made Craig a star. My comparison to Dalton arises in that I don't see American audiences warming up to Craig outside of the Bond role like they did with Connery and Brosnan. I think he can be a good supporting player, and of course, under the right direction of someone like QT, Spielberg, James Cameron et al, truly excel to the elite. However, I think if you replaced Craig with someone else in The Golden Compass to make it feel less British and cold - an actor like Nick Cage, Johnny Depp, or even Brosnan, it would have performed slightly better domestically.

And I like the realistic approach to Bond, but feel it works better with Batman. A lot of the problems that people had with Rob Zombie's Halloween (which I liked) are the same problems that I have with Casino Royale presently I think. And it sounds like even more so with the sequel - diving into Bond's psychology of a smooth assassin. What is inherently Bond on film is missing - it's a nice sabbatical from the overblown stunts formula that Brosnan's run became, but I can't help but wish Clive Owen or even Ryan Gosling snagged the part and injected a little more wittiness and cheekiness behind the muscle that is a novice Bond. Bond to me is a super spy, stealthy, clever and funny - and I want to see those attributes on screen. I think critics got too amped when they saw parkour in a Bond film - a clear way to go after the rough-and-kinetic style of the Bourne series.

And I hope that Tarantino gets a shot at his version of Bond before he exits the directing game. His would be definitive and revelatory, I have no doubt.

Re: TheDohDoh's comment-

I too have had the same experience. Despite numerous efforts I have found myself indifferent and frankly bored each time once I'm passed the opening titles. I can't quit put my finger on the why- but there is no denying that CR, at least for me, doesn't have any real replay value. In contrast, I've, without doubt, viewed all the Connery films at the very least 30 times [to much free time I suppose] and find myself still enjoying them to varying levels; as to the Moore installments, I would just assume pretend they never came to be.