The Cold Cut

When Daniel Craig was announced as the new James Bond, a load of websites popped up protesting against the fact that someone blond had been cast as the suave agent. Yes, BLOND. A tad petty perhaps? Well, I noticed that all the websites seemed to shut up after the release of Casino Royale. Probably due to the fact that both the film and the acting were excellent... I went to the most popular website today, craignotbond.com, and it has shut down! I suppose the administrator's would rather disappear than eat their words.

I personally thought that the film was excellent, with good set pieces and a believable storyline.
How many people thought that the Bond franchise was beyond redemption after the silly ice surfing sequence in Die Another Day? Pierce Brosnan was a good Bond, but it's important to bear in mind that the last Bond film based on one of Ian Fleming's books was Live and Let Die(?). Therefore its safe to assume that the last few films have had crap screenwriter's; none of them managed to achieve the grit that we saw in Casino Royale (especially the beginning sequence- the first kill). The only recent Bond film which comes anywhere near Casino Royale is Goldeneye, and its not a coincidence that Martin Campbell directed both. Its fallen to him twice to reinvent the Bond name, and he has been succesful both times; in Goldeneye he made the successful transition to the Cold War era, and in Casino Royale we appear to be in the modern day...

My main question is who would allow such a well known franchise to become so ridiculous? It was blisteringly obvious to the public that although the Bond films were entertaining, we were laughing at them, not really with them...