I'll Do Him Ten Better

Owen Glieberman of Entertainment Weekly said of Casino Royale "Is Casino Royale the greatest Bond film ever? Let's put it this way: It will never be quite as quintessential as, say, Dr. No, the first and (to me) still the finest moment of Bond's Connery/Cold War/Playboy heyday. Yet if Casino Royale isn't a greater Bond film than that, it's a greater movie, period."

Bollocks, Mr. Glieberman.

I can not only name one Bond film better than Casino Royale, I can name ten:

1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Goldfinger
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. Goldeneye
5. For Your Eyes Only
6. From Russia With Love
7. Dr. No
8. The World Is Not Enough
9. Licence To Kill
10. Thunderball

What makes these 007 films better than Casino Royale? They're shorter. Their plots are tighter. Their villains are more threatening. Their romances are stronger, and M doesn't have to call Bond two minutes before the closing credits to tie up loose ends in the story.

This takes nothing away from Daniel Craig's performance. He was very good. But let's not make his debut out to be more than it is: a promising start attached to a substandard story. I'm glad Craig did well, but I've seen many better films, not just on screens this year, but in my own 007 DVD collection. If it weren't in stores everywhere, I'd offer to let Mr. Glieberman borrow it.