3/4 of a great Bond movie

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2006)

It seems, from viewing comments, that whether you like this Bond movie depends on whether you think Bond movies are about gadgets or not. Or whether you realise Bond was originally a character in a series of novels or just a movie character. If you think Roger Moore or Die Another Day are great Bond then you will not like Casino Royale. Why? Well, in my opinion, because this films is good entertainment set in reality which revolves around an actual story and not a collection of action sequences strung together with silly jokes, daft gadgets (which give away things that have to happen to Bond as soon as he's given them as they generally had such limited use) and sexy ladies.
This, though, in still not a truly great Bond movie. For an hour and 45 minutes or so, up and including the brutal torture sequence, it really is right up there. It's tight, tense, well constructed scripted and acted... Bond even has to do some espionage; something I can't really remember him doing for a long long time. Yet after the surprise (to people who've not read the book) death of the (apparent) main villain the wheels sadly fall off. While the sudden introduction of a new villain who's motivations never become clear (a brief phone call with M does not suffice) is a major part of the stumbling the real problem lies in the sudden inexplicable change of Bond and Vespa's entire personalities. Nothing either of them do ever rings true and because of this the final act of the movie just falls flat and, for the only time in this particular Bond adventure, just seems like an excuse to have another big action sequence.
Still, there's much to be enjoyed in the first two acts. The free running chase sequence at the start is one of the very best action sequences I've seen (although it's so cool the film can never reach the same level of adrenaline) and Craig truly makes an excellent Bond, even if he doesn't have the clichéd suave look.
So, if you want Roger Moore silliness or generic Bond then your chance of enjoying this particular adventure are probably lower than those who want a return to Bond as a cold hearted spy.
As a final side note, the change from Baccara (in the novel) to Texas Hold 'Em is generally well done as it means you don't have to waste 5 minutes of screen time as someone explains how Baccara's played. But for those who know poker (and especially how it's always portrayed in movies) you can work out exactly what hands everyone has from the start. And I really wish they'd have had some "real" poker hands where people win with a pair instead of massive hands every time. The final hand in particular is ludicrous with a flush, 2 full houses and a straight flush all in the same hand. How Roger Moore!