Scientists speculate that the long-term memory of goldfish is 30 seconds. As a species they would make a perfect fan-base for the 007 movie franchise.

Your average Bond movie neither requires nor rewards the ability to track the extended sweep of its narrative. Is James fighting terrorists or corrupt financiers? Does the end of the movie make much sense out of its beginning? Do you really care? No, this is entertainment in short bursts - small jolts of viewing pleasure that don't add up to much but are a lot of fun while they last.

Classic Bond components - elegant yachts, beautiful women, spiffy high-tech gadgetry tucked in the glove compartment of a ludicrously expensive car - repeat themselves, scene after scene, movie after movie; some of them so ubiquitous that they have long ago become the stuff of brand. But what should a goldfish care?

Into this cocktail of mild stimulants the latest Bond installment "Casino Royale" drops (like a toaster into Flipper's goldfish bowl) a change that packs a genuine wallop: James is different.

This new James as played by Daniel Craig is a working-class mutation of the Bond archetype. He is rougher and, where past Bond's exuded a practiced cool, he is stone cold.

Unlike the foppish Bond's of old for whom violence was a social art, an acquired skill carried out with poise and graceful detachment, with Craig's Bond the violence is feral, bruising, and - for those who may have grown weary of the formula - bracing.

Early in the movie James pursues a terrorist through a construction site. The chase is raw, adrenal infused chaos with impossible leaps and painful, unforgiving landings. The two smash anything that gets in their way and finally resolve the matter by blowing up a propane tank in a foreign embassy - much to the embarrassment of the British government. James' actions are a senseless triumph of the reptilian brain and his accomplishment of dubious value to British intelligence but it is the high point of the movie and sure to make him a favorite among Bond fans.

"Casino Royale" charges forward on that inspired rebellion against typecasting - at one point Bond's response to a bartender's question as to whether he wants his martini shaken or stirred is "Do I look like I give a damn?"- until it reaches a point where you can almost hear the producers lose heart and mutter "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Somewhere mid-story "Casino Royale" re-Bondifies itself and slips back into the pleasantly (tepid) familiar.

James is sent to a posh casino to ruin the plans of his nemesis, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) by beating him at poker. En route he hooks up with the latest Bond girl, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).

Green does make for a welcome addition to the movie. Both beautiful and talented, she brings an intelligence that counterbalances Craig's undomesticated testosterone. Together they are the best thing about "Casino Royale" whose script keeps scuttling back to the safety of the franchise formula.

In recent years the 007 franchise has found itself outflanked by its competition: the more cerebral Bourne series, and the slickly superficial Mission Impossible. Something had to be done and Daniel Craig may be just the ticket to give the Bond movies back their edge.

This may be a revolution more of style than substance, but in the fashion driven world of the Bond franchise style is everything.

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Rated: PG-13

(Two and a half stars)

Bruce Bulloch may be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com