Casino Royale (2006): ****
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This is one of the best Bond films in the franchise's history. Forget all the
flap of Bond being blond; Daniel Craig's poised to give Sean Connery a run
for his money as the all time best Bond. Gone are the goofy gadgets and
campy one-liners; this film is a lean and gritty thriller. Craig's Bond is a
cold-blooded killer; unlike previous films, Bond's not an indestructible,
infallible killing machine. Bond takes his fair share of lumps in the movie
and makes some terrible mistakes.
Casino Royale reboots the franchise, depicting Bond in his first missions
as a 00 agent. After a disastrous foray in Africa which results in Bond laying
waste to an embassy and killing the man MI6 wanted alive, M (Judi Densch)
is about ready to cashier Bond.
Enter LeChiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who provides banking services for
terror groups. After losing his clients' money in a disastrous stock gambit,
he arranges a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro in an
attempt to win enough to cover his losses.
Bond happens to be the best poker player in the agency, so M reluctantly
arranges for Bond to have a seat at the table. Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is
assigned to be with Bond to manage the money; predictably, she becomes
Bond's love interest in the film.
Over the course of his time in Montenegro, Bond endures attacks from
assassins, poisoning, and torture. His arrogance and ego lead his to make
terrible mistakes and leaves him scrambling to recover. Unlikie other Bond
movies, the outcome is always in doubt and victory is never guaranteed.
Martin Campbell turns in a tremendous directorial effort. His action set
pieces are magnificent; the chases and stunts are the most exciting I've seen
in ages, he handles the film's quiet moments well, and he even manages to
infuse the card games with loads of tension. The movie's a back to basics
Bond film in the tradition of From Russia With Love and the shift away
from camp suits the franchise wonderfully. If this is the direction future
films will take, I'll be eagerly awaiting the sequels.
Longtime Bond fans will love this movie; it delivers on every conceivable
level. Viewers who've made it a point to avoid Bond films will find this well
worth checking out; Casino Royale is about as good as it gets.
Maneating Lemur (3/22/07),