For me to say that Casino Royale was the best Bond film ever made would be marginally disingenuous, as I haven’t watched enough of them (i.e., I’ve only seen about half of the 20 other entries), to make that claim. (The reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes have though, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.) I can definitely say, however, that it is at least the equal of Batman Begins in its attempt to reinvent a well-loved character, and give it a breadth and depth that were lost on the previous films.
Craig sizzles in nearly every scene, and it’s probably because he plays it without any of the cool, stylish condescension of the other Bonds. There’s a lot of rage and a lot of roughness in this early Bond, and he gets pummeled bloody all throughout the movie, gadget-less and without any of the requisite repartee. And did I mention the film spends a good half-hour watching Bond play Hold ‘Em?
Dialogue is also surprisingly well-written due, I’m sure, to the later contributions of Paul Haggis (Crash) to the script. The action hops from Africa to the Bahamas to Montenegro to Venice, and there’s not a single moment where I wasn’t utterly riveted. (One would argue that the third act is overly-long, but it necessarily needed to setup the final confrontation.)
Like Batman Begins, this is the first movie to explore why our protagonist thinks and acts the way he does. Like Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bond has been hardened by his mistakes, and has chosen to play a role in order to do his job. Brilliant.