Casino Royale - A Sexy Daniel Craig Took Over as James Bond
Written: Nov 27 '06 (Updated Aug 10 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Entertaining, enjoyable movie. Craig as Bond.
Cons: Few slower spots. Some things were missing.
The Bottom Line: Casino Royale was a very entertaining addition to the James Bond series. Fans of the movies could be disappointed by a few things but should still give it a chance.
I have liked the James Bond movies for years, including some of the ones that many people think are the weaker movies in the series. I had really liked Pierce Brosnan in the part, so I was a little concerned when I found out he wouldn’t be playing the part anymore. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Daniel Craig in the part, but I was willing to give him a chance. I did end up enjoying Casino Royale when I saw it.
On his first mission after receiving 00 status, James Bond ended up causing an international incident when trying to catch a bomb maker. M was less than pleased and told him to take some time off. James didn’t stop working on the investigation and discovered a connection to Le Chiffre, a man that invested money for terrorists. James managed to stop one of Le Chiffre’s plans, forcing him to try to find some way to make back the money he’d lost.
Le Chiffre was planning a high stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro to get the money he needed to return to some terrorists. James was the best poker player in MI6, so M sent him to stop Le Chiffre. Vesper Lynd, a treasury agent, was also going along to keep an eye on the money. Vesper wasn’t impressed with James when they first met, but the two became closer as the situation became more complicated.
Casino Royale was based on the book of the same name written by Ian Fleming. It was actually the first book featuring James Bond that Fleming wrote. I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know how close the movie followed the book or exactly what was changed. I barely remember seeing another movie version that featured Peter Sellers. If I remember right, that version was more of a spoof, so it was very different from this version.
Since this movie focused on the beginning of Bond’s career as a 00 agent, Casino Royale has restarted the Bond series, much like Batman Begins did for the Batman movies. This was a different James, one who didn’t have any kind of established reputation. Certain elements that were firmly developed in the previous Bond movies were missing. James didn’t care about how his martini was fixed. Miss Moneypenny and Q were missing, which did disappoint me a bit. Some of the gadgets did get a bit too silly in the last few movies, but it did seem a bit strange that James didn’t have many gadgets. He made several mistakes and got hurt more than once. He didn’t sleep with women and then discard them like they were tissues. He was focused on his mission, but he did get his emotions involved. Things that happened to him during his first mission help to explain why James was the way he was later in his career, including the way he handled future relationships. I have heard that there will be another Bond movie. I think it will be very interesting to see more of how James handles his early missions and changes.
None of the James Bond movies have had complicated plots and Casino Royale was no different in that area. That doesn’t mean that the plot was really simple either. There were some things that happened that added some complications as well as a few surprises even though other things were somewhat predictable. For example, I was sure one thing would end up happening. It did, but in a way that I never suspected. Early in the movie, it wasn’t that clear why James was doing certain things and how they would tie into the bigger picture. It didn’t take long for the reasons to be shared and they did make sense. A few scenes did move a bit slow without getting boring. It did seem like the movie went on a little long, though I’m really not sure what could have been left out. A couple of things were added in rather late in the movie that did help to explain why certain other things had happened. There were a few things left unanswered, or at least not fully explained, that could possibly be dealt with in the next movie.
Poker was very important to the plot of Casino Royale and a large portion of the movie focused on the high stakes tournament. Several hands were shown and it did seem like there was an attempt to add some suspense or tension related to how the hands would turn out. I know very little about poker in general and absolutely nothing about the type of poker that was being played in the tournament. The game didn’t make any sense to me during the first hand. As more hands were shown, I started to figure it out. I still don’t fully understand it or what some terms that were used meant. I still enjoyed the movie even though I didn’t really understand the poker game being played. There probably could have been a little less time used showing the poker hands since those scenes did usually move a bit slower.
All of the James Bond movies have included action. Some of the movies have had more than others. There were several action scenes in Casino Royale that were well done. What happened in those scenes was believable for the most part. A man that James was chasing did some unbelievable things, including scurrying up the side of some sort of beam at a construction site. I think this ended up being the most violent of all of the James Bond movies. Some of why I felt that way was because of a torture scene. That scene wasn’t really bloody, but it was still brutal even though James managed to inject a little bit of humor. Male viewers will probably be uncomfortable seeing that scene. At other times in the movie, James was shooting people and even fighting some of them. This movie might be too violent for some viewers. I don’t think this is a movie for children to see.
James wasn’t the suave ladies man who would have sex with just about any woman that was around. It did seem like Miss Moneypenny, and then M once the character became a woman, were the only women he didn’t sleep with in the previous movies. James did put some moves on one woman in an attempt to get some information, but he didn’t follow through even though she was very willing. He was interested in Vesper when they first met and he was even distracted by her at times. Vesper didn’t seem to like James much at all when they first met. It did seem a little off that she would change her mind about him so suddenly. There was chemistry between them even though there weren’t a lot of love scenes. James and Vesper ended up with a more emotional connection. One scene showed that very well with barely anything being said.
James went through a lot of things that ultimately changed him during this movie. He did start off with a tendency of doing things his own way, something that he had done in the other movies. He wasn’t as confidant and seemed uncomfortable in some situations, especially when he first had to put on a tux. I wasn’t sure about Daniel Craig playing James when I first heard he got the part. His James ended up being different from the previous versions of the character. I did think he did a good job with the part and made the character seem more believable. Craig had a different look from the previous Bonds as well with his blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. He was in very good shape and looked like he could hold his own in the fights James ended up in.
Vesper was sent along to watch over the money that James needed to get in the poker tournament. She wasn’t happy about the plan and she didn’t care for James. She started off being very professional and somewhat cool before changing later in the movie. Her change of feeling for James did seem a little sudden. Some things about her remained a mystery. Eva Green was really good in the part. She was believable as the intelligent Vesper. Judi Dench didn’t have that much to do as M, though a little bit related to her life away from her job was shared.
Le Chiffre would get money from terrorists that he would invest. The profits from the investments were returned to the terrorists to fund future activities. He would manipulate things to get the results he wanted for his investments. Mads Mikkelsen made a very good villain. Felix Leiter, a CIA agent, also turned up briefly. Felix had been in some of the previous movies too. Jesper Christensen was in a few scenes as Mr. White, a man that remained a mystery for most of the movie.
Main Cast
Jesper Christensen - Mr. White Daniel Craig - James Bond Judi Dench - M Eva Green - Vesper Lynd Mads Mikkelsen - Le Chiffre Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter
Martin Campbell - Director
Casino Royale was a very good addition to the James Bond series. The movie was different from the earlier movies, which might disappoint some fans of the series. It is definitely worth seeing for fans of James Bond.
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