It isn't until the dying moments of Casino Royale that Daniel Craig - cruelly labelled Blond Bond - gets to utter the immortal line "The name's Bond, James Bond", and becomes only the sixth actor to don the tuxedo of the iconic MI6 secret agent on the big screen. The role fits him snugly enough, introducing a brusque, impetuous, rough and ready Bond, who has only just attained Double-O status via a splendid black and white pre-credits sequence.

Craig's secret agent isn't the Bond of old - he's not polished or refined, his preferred method of seduction is a pout rather than a cute line, and his sense of humour is drier than his trademark tipple. At times, 007 is so emotionally distant, so fixated on achieving his objectives at the expense of the people around him, it's difficult to empathise with the character.

He's a crude, cocksure killing machine; even senior intelligence officer M (Judi Dench) feels compelled to warn him: "Any thug can kill. I want you to take your ego out of the equation and judge each situation dispassionately." By the end of the film, Bond's relationship with his steely superior has thawed. "You can stop pretending - you knew I wouldn't let this drop," he tells M, having disobeyed her orders to pursue his target. "Well, I knew you were you," she replies sagely. We warm to the maverick agent too, although not completely.

After some scene setting in Czech Republic and Uganda, the action begins in earnest in Madagascar. Having been elevated to Double-O status, James sets his sights on bombmaker Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan), who leads the MI6 agent to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), an international banker holding the purse strings of many of the world's most dangerous terrorists. When Le Chiffre heads for Casino Royale in Montenegro and a high stakes poker game with a 10 million dollar buy-in, Bond follows, his every move scrutinised by sexy Treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Fortunes change on the turn of a card, pitting Bond and his associates - Felix Leitner (Jeffrey Wright) and field agent Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) - against Le Chiffre's underworld contacts, including his beautiful yet deadly girlfriend Valenka (Ivana Milicevic).

Craig recreates Ursula Andress's bikini scene from Dr No clad in figure-hugging brief swimming trunks, and later in the film, when James orders his trademark martini and the bar man politely enquires, Shaken or stirred, sir?' the secret agent snaps, Do I look like I care?'.

M's secretary Miss Moneypenny has no place in Casino Royale, nor does Q - Bond's sole gadget is his swanky new Aston Martin DBS with a computerised glovebox. Green brings a smouldering sensuality and fragility to her Bond girl, who is so much more than window dressing, saving Bond's life on more than one occasion. Mikkelsen plays his villain extremely low key, only really showing anything approaching emotion during a torture sequence, which has been cut by censors to achieve the film's 12A classification.

Without charm in his arsenal, the new Bond has scant recourse for tongue-in-cheek innuendo or smart one-liners. He succumbs just once, surviving a near catastrophic ordeal in the midst of the pivotal poker game and jesting, "I'm sorry. That last game - nearly killed me."