"The problem with making Bond more real is that everything around him then seems even more fake than usual," he said.

The response to "Casino Royale" will come as a relief to producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who admit they took a risk in casting Craig as Bond.

He replaced the popular Pierce Brosnan, whose last Bond film "Die Another Day" raked in an estimated $432 million at the box office. The franchise has generated billions of dollars over its 44-year lifespan.

The Bond films are produced by EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the media unit of Japan's Sony Corp. The film goes on general release on November 17.