"Casino Royale" - The Consensus

The latest James Bond outing, Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig in his first appearance as Bond, is blowing critics away. With a 95% positive rating at Rottentomatoes (which puts it in a 5-way tie for 4th place for the highest rating of the year) and score of 80 at Metacritic, Casino Royale is getting some of the best reviews of any Bond film ever. Here is what some of the critics are saying:

"Relaunches the series by doing something I wouldn't have thought possible: It turns Bond into a human being again -- a gruffly charming yet volatile chap who may be the swank king stud of the Western world, but who still has room for rage, fear, vulnerability, love." - Owen Glieberman, Entertainment Weekly

"Flat-out one of the best Bonds ever." - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Craig, excellent in both art house endeavors ("The Mother," "Enduring Love") and blockbuster think pieces ("Munich"), has both a nasty streak and a soft side never before seen in the series; Fleming would recognize him as most like his literary creation: damaged goods in a tailored tux." - Robert Wilonski, Village Voice

"Let the purists squawk: In Daniel Craig, the Bond franchise has finally found a 007 whose cruel charisma rivals that of Sean Connery." - Ty Burr, Boston Globe