2006 | Dir. Martin Campbell | 144 Minutes
"So you want me to be half-monk, half-hitman."
On his first mission as a 00 Agent for MI6, James Bond prevents the bombing of an airliner commissioned by private banker to terrorists and notorious gambler Le Chiffre in an attempt to profit by betting against the aerospace company in the stock market. The banker attempts to recuperate the funds he lost in a high-stakes card game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. M subsequently orders Bond to bankrupt the Le Chiffre at the casino and take him into MI6 custody.
Directing his second James Bond feature following the phenomenally entertaining GoldenEye, Martin Campbell's Casino Royale is a more polished, better-paced, even stronger film. The twenty-first picture of Eon Productions' James Bond franchise radically resets the tonal trajectory of the series, trading broad gimmicks and over-the-top gadgets for genuinely engaging dramatic stakes with an emphasis on grounded practical stunt work. Between the truly superb set pieces, troubled love interest Vesper Lynd questions how Bond's occupation erodes away his humanity, compellingly presenting much more meaningful introspection for the character than ever before. The character of Bond is redefined as more of a blunt weapon than a suave precision instrument, prone to violence and brash decision-making, carrying out his duty with extreme prejudice more to selfishly satisfy his own ego than to serve Queen and Country.
From the brutal brawl before the opening credits to the literally breathtaking finale in Venice, Casino Royale delivers exhilarating action from top to bottom. Stand-out sequences include an intense parkour chase through a construction site in Madagascar, an explosive high speed pursuit across the tarmac at Miami International Airport, and a bloody knock-down drag-out fight in a stairway at the Hotel Splendide. The uniformly excellent cinematography and editing perfectly capture every thrilling moment. Perhaps the most impressive feat of the picture is that the filmmakers even manage to imbue the poker scenes with palpable tension combining excellent performances with clever staging.
Daniel Craig's debut James Bond performance is a revelation, bringing a convincing harder edge as well as subtle vulnerability to the quintessential secret agent, crafting a well-rounded character that is truly a welcome departure from previous takes on 007. Eva Green is mesmerizing as Vesper Lynd, exuding sharp intelligence and a sort of quiet torment that tragically culminates in the film's final act, her onscreen chemistry with Craig's Bond is off the charts. In one of his finest roles, character actor Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre is chilling, somewhat pitiful but delightfully creepy. French freerunner Sébastien Foucan is absolutely mind-blowing, demonstrating his considerable parkour skills as the bomb-maker Mollaka in his brief but memorable appearance. Claudio Santamaria as the crafty terrorist operative Carlos is considerably less impressive by comparison. Simon Abkarian is perfectly slimy as Le Chiffre's petulant associate Alex Dimitrios while Caterina Murino is appropriately alluring as his doomed wife Solange. Judi Dench returns as M, amusingly somehow sterner than before, and Jeffrey Wright is the seventh and best actor so far to fill the role of Bond's CIA ally Felix Leiter for Eon Productions. The film also features Giancarlo Giannini as smooth-talking French MI6 agent René Mathis, Jesper Christensen as the mysterious Mr. White, and Tobias Menzies as M's assistant Villiers.
Casino Royale is one of the very best pictures of Eon's storied James Bond franchise. Stylish, suspenseful, action-packed, and even slightly meditative, Daniel Craig's first Bond film confidently refreshes the very idea of 007, appealing to contemporary sensibilities by discarding more problematic aspects of the series while still remaining surprisingly faithful to its source material.
THE COLD OPEN
Presented in striking black and white, Bond confronts corrupt MI6 Prague section chief Dryden in his office as he recalls his brutal drawn-out fight to the death with the Dryden's contact. Killing his second target with relative ease, Bond gains 00 status, immediately establishing Daniel Craig's Bond as a colder, rougher take on 007. Working the iconic gun barrel shot as Bond shoots Dryden's contact to transition the cold open into the opening titles is simply sublime.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Grunge rocker Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" may not be among the most celebrated Bond theme song but its aggressive uptempo style is tonally fitting for Casino Royale. Daniel Kleinnman's opening title sequence also presents a appealing departure from previous introductions featuring stylized abstract male figures in combat, in stark contrast to the series' standard of seductive feminine shapes, constructed from imagery inspired by playing card and casino imagery.
THE BOND GIRL
Vesper Lynd carries the dubious honor of being the source of Bond's dysfunctional attitude towards women. Fortunately, Vesper is more than a one-dimensional desirable object. When clashing with Bond verbally, she gives as good as she gets, constantly challenging Bond's methods and disposition with valid logical arguments. Bond is so stricken with Vesper, he nearly leaves MI6 to be with her, and even invents a drink and names it after her. The shock and heartbreak of her betrayal is enough to install an indefinite emotional detachment to women in Bond's psyche.
THE BOND VILLAIN
Le Chiffre is a relatively simple but still fascinating adversary. His customary Bond villain deformity alone is memorable, a health condition that causes him to occasionally bleed out of his left eye. A compulsive gambler in charge of financing terrorist activities for a mysterious criminal organization, his diabolical schemes are small-time when compared to other cinematic 007 antagonists but his methods are remarkably nasty: attempting to bomb a massive jet for profit, poisoning Bond in the middle of the poker tournament, and whipping a captured Bond's genitals demanding his bank account's password after Bond bests him at the card table. It's somewhat unfortunate that Le Chiffre meets a rather unceremonious end, shot in the head by Mr. White.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
Ill-tempered and generally despicable, Alex Dimitrios is just irritating enough for it to feel satisfying when Bond wins his Aston Martin in a hand of poker, woos his beautiful wife, and ultimately kills him silently in the middle of the Body Worlds exhibition at Miami International Airport but not unique enough to be notably memorable. The ultimate middle manager, his underlings, bomb-making parkour master Mollaka and resilient operative Carlos, are much more formidable adversaries by comparison.
BEST GADGET
One of the most practical gadgets of the series, the compact government-issue defibrillator plays a vital part in the memorable poisoning sequence.
FLEMING FIDELITY
While the first half of the film is comprised of original material, the plot of the second half is remarkably faithful to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel Casino Royale published in 1953. The screenwriters made only a handful of changes to modernize the story. In the novel, Le Chiffre is an accountant for a branch of Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH who loses SMERSH's money by investing it in brothels just before a general prostitution ban, the card game featured in the novel is baccarat, and Vesper's suicide is by sleeping pill overdose.
FRAGMENTS
- There are two prior screen versions of Casino Royale: an Americanized adaptation for CBS television program Climax! starring Barry Nelson as James "Jimmy" Bond aired in 1952, and a loose comedy film adaptation starring Peter Sellers made without the involvement of Eon Productions released in 1967
- Madame Wu, The poker player who appears onboard Le Chiffre's yacht and at the tournament in Montenegro is played by Tsai Chin who previously appeared as the undercover MI6 agent Ling in the cold open of You Only Live Twice
- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"
