Don't mess with this stuff

The new version of Casino Royale was on TV the other night. They should have stuck with the David Niven parody. This one was a parody, too, but not conscious (apparently) and not very successful. Ian Fleming is doing some serious haunting right now. Daniel Craig is a good actor, but he is not Bond on so many levels. For one thing, he's blond and doesn't have enough hair on his chest, but that's just superficial. The writers did both Craig and the public a disservice by turning Bond into a thug and asking Craig to play him that way. My son says today is the age of the anti-hero. Ok, so stop making James Bond movies until the times are ready for a hero again. Don't desecrate Fleming's A+ grade B-novel writing. Actually, I don't believe we are no longer in need of heros. I believe that suave, sophisticated Bond would still bring people in to the movies -- a lot of people just watch them for the gadgets anyway. And women watch them for the guys who play Bond. And guys watch them for the latest Bond girl. So why change the image so drastically? It was a dumb move. It may have netted some serious change. But, it was a dumb move.