Queen Elizabeth II, Elton John and Sharon Osborne were among those in the audience at Leicester Square last Tuesday as Craig made his screen debut as the suave secret agent 007.

Casino Royale, the 21st James Bond film, opened in Britain and North America on Friday. Craig said the movie shows how Bond became who he was. "He makes a few mistakes, but at the end of the day he becomes Bond," he said.

Craig, whose screen credits include Munich and The Jacket, was already being praised in some quarters as the best Bond since Sean Connery, who played the first Bond role in 1962's Dr. No.

An adaptation of Ian Fleming's first-ever Bond novel, Casino Royale, was previously filmed as a 1967 spoof starring Peter Sellers. It is one of the few Bond adventures not to feature the MI6 gadget-maker Q or the sharp-witted secretary Miss Moneypenny.

But the Sony Pictures film retains many of the essential Bond elements, including sharp suits, gravity-defying chase sequences and spectacular locations. Judi Dench once again appears as Bond's boss, spymaster M.

But the screenplay, partly written by Crash writer-director Paul Haggis, provides a grittier-than-usual take on Bond, showing how he earns his license to kill.

When asked if he prefers his martini shaken or stirred, he replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?"

Craig has already signed up for the 22nd Bond film, due for release in November 2008.