A jolt into a tiring franchise, Casino Royale is exactly what a James Bond film should be, sleek, sexy, and fun. It also proves that you can create an origin story that both sets up and serves the franchise. In this movie, Daniel Craig plays Bond, having just recieved his 00 liscense. He’s impulsive, rash, yet you can see why he’s so good at his job. After thwarting a terrorist attack on an airline, he learns that the villianous Le Chiffre is going to be playing a high stake poker game, designed to win money to fund a terrorist ring. While Le Chiffre (and henchmen) make a formidable opponent, he meets his true macth in Vespyr Lynn, who is every bit a smart and sarcastic as he. From there we are thrust into a world of high stakes poker, kidnappings, and one truly uncomfortable chair interrogation scene. Also the ending scenes are high in tension and the finale is pitch perfect.
This film is such a revelation in the Bond series because it was able to embrace the changing climate of spy movies (the Bourne series) while staying true to the slick nature of the film series. The cars, gorgeous women and cool gadgets are still there. What works best for this movie is that the villains, even with their strange motivations, aren’t trying to blow up the world with lasers (something that plagued the Pierce Brosnan films). They are simply people a part of a big terrorism ring that Bond is trying catch a piece of. It makes the movie MUCH more believable and more energetic, in that the villains are so tangible.
Daniel Craig was a triumph of casting as Bond, allowing us into the mind of someone who is both brutish and debonair. But its Eva Green as Vespyr who leaves the biggest imprint, naturally as she is the woman whom Bond first loved. Martin Campbell’s direction is fantastic as he make those major set pieces and action sequences blend terrifically with the story.
Best Scene: Chase Through the Construction Site