A more humanized James Bond

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2006)

Bond is back in "Casino Royale!" This twenty-first edition, or first depending on the way you look at it, brings James Bond back to the beginning, much like "Batman Begins." There will be zero comparisons to the ones before the Pierce Brosnan era, since this reviewer has only seen bits and pieces of the Bonds before "Goldeneye." The director, Martin Campbell, who was also the director of "Goldeneye," did an amazing job. It is much better then the last James Bond, "Die Another Day."
James Bond, soon after obtaining his 007 'license to kill' status, finds himself in the middle of an international incident when he kills an unarmed bomber on embassy grounds. Despite drawing the wrath of his superiors, Bond continues to track the known associates of the bomber. Bond's investigation leads him to Le Chiffre, a banker for international terrorists. Bond and the British Secret Service discover that Le Chiffre will be playing in a high stakes card game, Texas Hold 'Em, at Casino Royale. Bond decides to enter the game with millions on the line. Will James Bond's ego keep him from winning the game?
This is not your traditional James Bond. The obvious is the look of Bond, Bond has blonde hair, which may cause some unnecessary complaints, and Daniel Craig is not a very handsome Bond. The enjoyable aspect of Daniel Craig's bond was that he had a human element. He made mistakes and did not win every time. He never had to rely on silly over-the-top gadgets, like the invisible car in "Die Another Day," in fact he only relied on a gadget once in the movie. The most enjoyable aspect of "Casino Royale" was that this bond did not seem like a superhero. The problem with most of the Brosnan movies is that bond seemed less like a human being and more like a superhuman. If you need to watch a superhero, watch "Spiderman" or "X-Men."
The casting was great. Daniel Craig played a Bond who not only could be hurt physically but mentally too. Eva Green played the main Bond girl, named Vesper Lynd, who had excellent chemistry with Craig. It is better they went with someone less known, unlike the last two Bond movies, "Die Another Day" with Halle Berry and "The World Is Not Enough" with Denise Richards. Mads Mikkelsen, as the villain, Le Chiffre, had a more realistic agenda then the typical Bond villain, and that was more enjoyable because it was more real. Judi Dench is back as M and is always enjoyable in that role.
There cannot be a Bond movie without the action. What was really enjoyable about the action in "Casino Royale," which was something that has plagued that last couple Bonds, is that it did not really too much on CGI. Most of the action and the stunts looked realistic, which made it seem less like a realistic video game, unlike "Die Another Day." This movie did not rely on too much gadgets. The last couple of movies simply went overboard on the gadgets and it was better to see this movie use as little gadgets as Bond could. Unfortunately, there was a scene with a lot of obvious CGI, an action sequence in Madagascar, which would not seem out of place in the "Matrix" trilogy. Normally, CGI does not bother this reviewer but since the other action scenes were not as obvious, it bothered this reviewer more then it should have.
The end credits were great. The theme song, "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell, is amazing because it sets the gritty dark mood of the movie. "You Know My Name" is much better then Madonna's "Die Another Day." The opening graphics that feature poker cards is a nice change, might be the first time used differently, from the normal naked women silhouettes. After watching the whole movie, besides all of the characters, it did not seem like a James Bond movie.
There are some negatives though. First off, as mentioned earlier, there was one action scene in Madagascar, which was bothersome because normal people do not run and jump like that. Another complaint is the song, "You Know My Name," it is a good song but it is much better without the orchestra added. At 144 minutes, this movie was a little to long and dragged a little. It would have been better if they had trimmed about 10 to 15 minutes off from the run time. Besides those three negatives, this movie is almost flawless.
In conclusion, "Casino Royale" is a fun movie. It had flaws but every movie does. This movie is recommended to anybody who prefers a movie like "Bourne Identity," or a show like "24," to a movie like "XXX." This may not win any academy awards, but it is one of the more entertaining movies this winter. Bond is back and this time his name is Craig, Daniel Craig! See this before it leaves the theaters!