Bond is back. That's all that has to be said.

Stop drooling over Clive Owen, Daniel Craig was the right choice for the role of Bond. Stop all of the speculation that today's Hollywood of ultra-violence and explosions prevents the true Bond, the 00 agent who uses spy tactics to get the baddies, from showing through. The proof is in the celluloid folks -- 007 is back.

Casino Royale, the 21st installment of the Bond series, puts forth the mantra of "back to basics" in a completely different light. The plot follows James Bond (Craig) a British Secret Service agent who has recently been elevated to 00 status, a status of greater responsibility and higher stakes, which the opening scene portrays perfectly.

Despite Bond's brash approach to apprehending suspects and constant criticism from 'M' (Judi Dench), the head of British Intelligence, Bond attempts to play it cool in the field. His inexperience as a true secret agent shines through as he constantly loses his temper and lets his ego get the best of him.

In lieu of their doubts, MI6 plants Bond into a high stakes poker game in Montenegro that is raising funds for a man named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), banker to the world's terrorist organizations. He meets up with representative of the British treasury, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). The casting of Craig is perfect. He plays the role of both a smooth-talker and a hothead almost instantaneously as he tries to feel out Lynd's true motives.

When it comes to James Bond fans, there are many different characteristics in the films that have to be met to appease the diverse outlooks people take on the series. I break it down like this -- there are those who expect all of the Bond-isms ("shaken not stirred," "Bond, James Bond," and all the gadgets and girls), which they feel are traditions that shouldn't be broken. Then there are those who constantly compare each actor who plays Bond to their predecessor (which we all know is a moot argument because Sean Connery always will be the best).

So how are these needs met? Well first of all, all of the mainstays of the Ian Fleming novel are there, but not where you expect. There's a very subtle manner to which the filmmakers let you into the world of Bond once more. The world might still stop on a dime when Bond asks for that first martini, but the second time there's a little twist that gives the audience a real sense of the desperation 007 has found in his new status.

The gadgets are also there, but not in excess, and they are used only when it's a life and death situation. Even the fights and torture scenes fit the grit of the movie as a new type of violence is submitted to the Bond franchise: not one of explosions and over-the-top theatrics but of fist-to-mouth tenacity.

The girls are gorgeous, and while some are duped, Lynd doesn't initially fall head over heels for Bond's over-confidence, and it takes some sarcastic wit and the braving of unexpected danger to win her over. The characters aren't portrayed as those in the old Bond days but rather as flesh-and-blood humans who, despite the glamorous world of spy games, are very vulnerable.

Because of this humanistic overtone, Casino Royale is truly incomparable to the other Bond movies in the series. While it has the look and feel of the world famous spy series, there is an immense feeling of separation from the previous Bonds.

If no other Bond was made before and this was the first film based on the infamous Ian Fleming character, it would be one of the biggest action movies ever, possibly garnering even more critical and box-office acclaim than it already has.

Still, there will be those who won't allow comparisons of Craig to all of those before him to holster the Walther PPK pistol. To them I say, without a doubt, he belongs among his predecessors as he breaks the mold by playing Bond in the origins of his 007 lifestyle.

He's the secret agent that grows into the callous yet consummate gentleman that ladies love and guys want to be. All of the hardships that form the mold for that character are played out in front of our very eyes, so by the film's end the audience has a better understanding of the justification that goes through the mind of 007.

So, not if but when you go see Casino Royale, be prepared to be amazed by the turnaround this franchise has taken in one film. While he might come to life in a new way this time around, his name is still Bond, James Bond. Grade: A