Daniel Craig is Bond

The Internet does inspire some nuttiness, one of the silliest examples in the movie realm being the pseudo-007 fans and their campaign against Daniel Craig as James Bond. He's too blond, too ugly, not suave enough, et. al. Nonsense, of course. The hair colour isn't an issue, and Craig has a classical, rough-around-the-edges handsomeness to him. He's not a pretty boy, but I'm assured by polls of female magazine readers and my own admittedly limited research that women do find him attractive.

The more pertinent question is, can he play the part on screen? Judging by the new trailer, Craig will play 007 very well indeed, as the cool, ruthless, irresistable, and deadly secret agent that Ian Fleming wrote of in his James Bond novels, of which Casino Royale is the first.

The Bond film series has always survived by virtue of its adaptability. Those unfamiliar with the series claim 'they're all the same', but there are subtle and major changes in tone across the various films. No one would mistake the cartoony 007-lite of Octopussy for the deadly rogue agent of Licence to Kill, for example. Casino Royale looks to be more in the tradition of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, George Lazenby's sole turn as Bond, which stuck closely to the source novel and showed a human, vulnerable side of the secret agent. And Craig looks like he has the acting chops to pull it off.

The nonsense spread about Craig is truly pathetic. Contrary to the tabloids, Craig can drive a manual, did not get his teeth knocked out, and did not suffer sunburn while on location. And don't even get me started on the vacuous complaining of the 'craignotbond' web site. Sheesh.

Daniel Craig IS James Bond in Casino Royale. It looks like a treat for all true 007 fans, especially those who realize that the series desperately needs a shakeup.