Review: Casino Royale
Bringing Bond Back to BasicsOriginally posted December 16, 2006
Rating: 4/5 stars (Very Good)
Even before Casino Royale hit theaters, the 21st film in the James Bond franchise was notorious for hiring a blond and – as London’s Daily Mirror called him – bland James Bond. Actor Daniel Craig did not fit anyone’s image of what Bond should be: he was not well-known; he was not an action star; and, well, he did not seem pretty or suave enough to step into the iconic shoes of the British assassin and counter-agent that many men revere as the epitome of manhood. A website was even launched that was anti-Craig, craignotbond.com, showing how many people take the casting of James Bond seriously.
Even I was skeptical of the success of the new Bond…until I read an article in August that the new James Bond film was going to be a reboot of the series. Eschewing the complex storyline, far-fetched gadgetry, and blockbuster special effects that the series had become known for in recent years, the film aimed to bring Bond back to the basics…back to being based on the first novel in the series by Ian Fleming, and back to the character of Bond as how he had been originally portrayed in the book series.
Suddenly, the new James Bond had what none of the others had had – my interest. After reading the initial positive film reviews and hearing good word-of-mouth feedback on it, I trooped to the cinema this November and, for the first time, deigned to watch a James Bond movie in a movie theater. And I was not disappointed.
The new James Bond has more guts, heart, and brain than any other installment I’ve seen. Granted that I am not a James Bond connoisseur, the opening action sequence in Uganda alone seemed grittier, more intense, and more realistic than anything I had ever seen in a Bond film. Here James Bond is actually sweating chasing down the villain, and having a visibly hard time keeping up with the athletic, African terrorist.
The acting has also definitely been set a bar higher than it had been. Daniel Craig is a character actor, and it shows in his portrayal of Bond as soulful and calculating. On his first mission after reaching double-0 status, he is someone who does not yet give a damn whether his martini is shaken or stirred, and actually loses concentration in a high-stakes poker game when a beautiful woman walks into the casino.
The woman in question, actress Eva Green, comes off on the other hand as – dare we say it – the first Bond girl with brains, someone who gives to Bond as good as he gets from their very first conversation. Her character, Vesper Lynd, is vulnerable yet strong, making Bond change his ways before ultimately driving him to his womanizing future. Academy Award-winning Dame Judi Dench, as “M,” is as capable as always, while the villain Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelsen) is compelling in the, er, wince-worthy torture scene in the film.
The cinematography, which sweeps through sets in Montenegro, the Bahamas, Madagascar, and Venice, brings a sheen of old-world glamour back to the series, and director Martin Campbell’s choice of tight, close-up shots on the actors reinforces the movie’s goal of making the characters both larger-than-life and more human at the same time. Suddenly, I understand the appeal, history, and tradition of James Bond that has captivated movie-goers for generations.
Although I stopped short of giving this film a 5-star rating, since the ending still left me a little cold and there is an emotional detachment to Bond that is impossible or difficult to bridge, I still cannot imagine how any new film in the franchise could possibly top this one.
Please, James… Make a believer out of me again.
