Starring Daniel Craig, Mads Mikkelsen, and Eva Green. Rated 14A.

In the first 50 years of his career, Commander James Bond defeated military technocrats, warlords, colourful minions, and even time itself—remaining agelessly virile, lethal, and witty. Now he faces his biggest challenge: staleness and obsolescence.

In both plot and presentation, the screen Bond was becoming hopelessly in thrall to technology. While seeking ever more ludicrous extremes of spectacle, the Bond movies were surpassed in passion and entertainment by smaller, “realistic” spy escapades like Ronin and The Bourne Identity.

Casino Royale, the 21st official film in the canon, is a mostly successful attempt to get back to basics. Blond locks aside, Daniel Craig has the craggy, mean look that Ian Fleming described in the books, as well as a rugged build that makes him the most credible fighter in the films since George Lazenby. Like the novel on which it’s based, the movie depicts Bond’s first mission as a double 0 agent. Assisted by the beautiful but unreliable Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), Bond must defeat a villainous banker, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), at a high-stakes card game. Intrigues follow.

As concessions to modernity, the characters have cellphones and the game is poker instead of baccarat. But the story plays out similarly to the novel, unfortunately for Bond’s testicles. It is, indeed, a violent movie throughout. Although some may always wonder what Quentin Tarantino would have made of this material (as he had asked Eon Productions to consider in 2004), director Martin Campbell certainly hasn’t stinted on the body count or action sequences. The best of these comes early: the chase, which involves parkour expert Sebastien Foucan, should raise both the profile of “free running” and the pulse of audience members. The middle section of the film is the card game, a battle of wills. The resolution seems strangely protracted, as if Campbell is toying with a happy ending long after you know it won’t happen. But cruelty is what this nasty flick is all about. It left me stirred, if not shaken.