CASINO ROYALE (2006) ..... A- ... Purists will argue over whether this is the best James Bond movie ever and also over whether Daniel Craig might even be better than Sean Connery. Choosing the gritty, flinty-eyed Craig to reintroduce this storied franchise was inspired genius. After two long decades of pretty boys masquerading as 007 agents, we now have come full circle back to a James Bond character who exudes testosterone along with having a very serious, cold-blooded demeanor. Furthermore, this movie is filled with physical stunts as opposed to techno-gadgetry, and the muscular Craig is more than up to the athleticism that is required by this role.

"Casino Royale" features spectacular locales, beautiful women, and an over-the-top villain common to all of the Bond movies. However, in this film Bond has a fully developed relationship with Vesper Lynd, his fellow agent. Lynd, played by the beautiful Eva Green ("Kingdom of Heaven"), is a brainy, tough, and perceptive woman who is more than a match for this Bond in everything but the most physically demanding of situations.

M (Judi Dench) has a larger role, but she still does little more than rail against what she fears might be a rogue agent. The beautiful Italian actress, Caterina Murino, dies in the best tradition of the Bond girls as Solange, the expendable mistress of another villain. Giancarlo Giannini of 1974's "Swept Away" appears as Mathis, the local spy in Montenegro, and Jeffrey Wright makes a welcome appearance as Felix Leiter, the CIA agent. Finally, actors from early James Bond movies fill out the minor roles, as evidenced by the two women at the card table with Bond and Le Chiffre.

Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) is the shadowy investment banker for terrorist organizations worldwide, and James Bond picks up his trail while in the Bahamas following a related lead. There is a reluctance to send Bond out on this operation as he has just achieved his "00" rank by making his second kill. Furthermore he has followed that up with an embarrassingly public assassination effort in Africa. No matter. In a case of being in the right place at the right time, Bond is given the go-ahead to follow Le Chiffre back to Europe to thwart his plan to win a $100 million card game (Texas Hold 'em poker, not baccarat) at a posh hotel in Montenegro.

My complaints about this excellent Bond outing are few. This movie is way too long at 2 hours and 24 minutes. A chase scene or two should have been cut and the tension of a high-stakes card game will pass over those who are not avid card players. In addition, my problem with the way this card game is played is that there is way too much dependency on "tells," those little clues that give away an opponent's intentions. I can't buy the premise that a world-class player like Le Chiffre would have such obvious tells. Otherwise, this game's a winner. 224 minutes. PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, torture, sexual content, and nudity.