Nice Change of Pace for the Series

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2006)

It is appropriate that "Casino Royale", the first of the James Bond books (1953), would also be the first James Bond film to get a makeover. The original 1967 film was not just the black sheep of the series, but a bizarre departure from pretty much everything the franchise stood for. Which made it the best candidate for a remake which itself drastically breaks away from many Bond film conventions.
The new "Casino Royale" represents a welcome invigoration of a series at a crossroads where it either had to reinvent itself or retire. As the least elaborate and most basic of Ian Fleming's series, the story adapts well to a gritty no-nonsense treatment. Basically it is the origin story of 007 and Daniel Craig, doing a reprise of his performance in "Layer Cake", steps in as the new (and the most like Fleming's original) Bond. He is more out-of-control dashing than suave and sophisticated. While the young James Bond immature and overconfident, he comes by these traits honestly being both a competent and a maladjusted young man. Which means a mean streak and a soft side unlike any Bond before him.
Unlike the sound stage sets of the original "Casino Royale", the remake makes extensive use of exotic location shooting. The events in the films and the book center around a high stakes game (Texas hold-em poker here-baccarat in the others) as the villain Le Chiffre attempts to add funds to his agency's treasury at the gaming tables (the present day setting of the film requires the insertion of terrorist connections).
For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. The film nicely blends virtuoso action sequences with sexy romance; and throws in a torture sequence more in the tradition of "The Ipcress Files" than "Goldfinger.
This is serious stuff, not the self-parody and cartoonish antics which had begun to dominate the productions even before the Brosnan era. At first the new direction might seem a considerable gamble, but while there was no guarantee of success the producers had little to lose except production costs because the franchise was so close to fading away. Something rugged and unconventional was needed and that is exactly what the new "Casino Royale" delivers. The gritty opening scenes (featuring desaturated images) flashback to Bond as he is earning his 007 designation with brutal assassinations in a public bathroom and office. No silly gadgets (at least not really silly) or "Man From UNCLE" quips. There is a gray Aston Martin and the best car chase in Bond film history.
The new Le Chiffre is no Orsen Welles; and must rely on a bleeding non-functional eye for his creepiness. The interplay between Bond and Vesper Lynds (Eva Green) works quite well.
The writing team of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis provide a particularly nice script and it is fair to say that this version of "Casino Royale" ranks up there with the best of the series.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.