I am a fan of the James Bond films. I am one of the many who think Sean Connery is the best one. So where in the scheme of things does Casino Royale stack up to me? Well. Very well.
Casino Royale is the 21st Bond film (in the official EON lineup), and the first to star Daniel Craig. Like a number of other recent films which followed established franchises (Batman Begins, Superman Returns), CR goes back to tell how Bond became 'Bond'. Based loosely on the first novel by Ian Fleming, Bond is attempting to take down the villian Le Chiffre, 'banker to the terrorists', by bankrupting him in a high-stakes Texas Hold'Em competition at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. As befitting the re-load status of this film, a lot of the things which denote a Bond film has been taken away, such Q and his gadgets. But on the flipside, we see Bond acquire the accoutrements of 'Bond', from the '00' status (in the opening sequence), the car (the classic Aston Martin DB5 and new Aston Martin DBS - ooh lala!), the tux, the vodka martini, the name introduction and the womanising.
There was a measure of *oh, this film is gonna bomb* thinking around CR following the dumping of the popular Pierce Brosnan and the casting of Craig's was met with a general 'who!??!' as well as media revelations that he couldn't drive manual, and had to turn up to a press conference wearing a lifejacket. This is probably the lowest profile Bond cast in ages following the casting of Eva Green, another not so high profile actor (especially considering the shortlist for the role allegedly included Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Aishwarya Rai, and Scarlett Johanssen), and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. But you know what? High-profile people, who gives a damn so long as the actors are convincing in their roles! (Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist? WHATEVER!!!) And they are convincing! Craig doesn't go throughout the movie with a permanent smirk, instead he's quite good at showing the semi-psychopathic tendencies that might belong to someone who hides their true identity and kills for a living! Eva Green is BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL as the Treasury agent Vesper Lynd, nicely icy when faced when Bond is annoying, but also vulnerable when made to face what his career actually involves.
But it's more than just hiring the right people which makes this movie so effective. For one, the plot is actually believable compared to some of the more recent ones (e.g. the Media Baron starting a war so he can increase profits in Tomorrow Never Dies). Le Chiffre set up the game because after losing over $100,000,000 that belongs to an African Guerrilla guy of some sort, he REALLY NEEDS to win big quickly. Bond is less of the flip joker and more an actual spy whose actions potentially affect the lives of many people - his eyes are on the prize and he even gives up seducing a woman to chase a terrorist! That's not to say he can't be funny - the scenes when he confronts Vesper about the suit she ordered for him, hilarity in a purely normal way. However, if there is a fall person, its M - a degree of humour comes from Bond breaking classified information about her. The action sequences are less stunt-laden and cartoonish (e.g. the invisible car in Die Another Day). And man, when this movie starts the action, it doesn't let up! But the real tension comes the poker game itself! It was just like watching the tennis sequences in Wimbledon.
Casino Royale is a great movie that takes something that had become a cliched parody of itself and made it new. I don't know if its the best Bond ever - it has a lot of nostalgia to beat - but it's certainly one of the better ones and one of the better movies of 2006.
8/10
P.S. The song is pretty nifty too
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