The Best Bond Movie...Ever

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2008)

"Oh my God...it couldn't be happening, could it? Could I be watching a guy outdoing Sean Connery as James Bond? Could I be watching a movie that is not only as good as Connery's ones but maybe even better?" Yes, on all counts. These were the thoughts going through my head as I watched this movie in the cinema. I'm not some kid who has only seen the last few James Bonds, I've seen every one of them over the last few decades.
We all thought Pierce Brosnan had been the best Bond since Connery, but Daniel Craig makes him look like small beer (sorry Pierce, you're a nice guy!) Everyone was shocked when Brosnan got dropped as James Bond and this new guy was hired in his place. Who was he? He didn't look like the usual tall, dark and handsome type. He seemed very nervous when he was announced as Bond and this lead to a tidal wave of negativity about his casting. Like many people, I didn't think he was going to be able to pull it off, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. How wrong we all were. (Perhaps the bad reaction spurred him on to show people.)
After a perfect casting decision. The makers then made another one. They hired screenwriter Paul Haggis, the man responsible for some of the best movies of the last 5 years including "Crash", "Million Dollar Baby" and "In The Valley of Elah." It was an inspired choice.
Another great decision was to bring back "GoldenEye" director Malcolm Campbell (the best of Brosnan's Bond movies) and he does another excellent job helming this one, somehow managing to make a stale franchise feel completely revitalized again.
The movie is based on the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming "Casino Royale." (The Bond producers finally acquired the rights to this book when MGM merged with Sony.) The film really goes back to the beginnings of James Bond's career. There is no "Q" in this one, no gadgets and no camp humour. We see Bond cold-bloodedly killing two people to get his "Double O" license (a real statement of intent from the makers). We also see him acquiring his Aston Martin car in a card game (a car as iconic as Batman's Batmobile). Everything feels fresh and new, even though the stripped-down feel and incredible hand-to-hand combat is heavily influenced by Matt Damon's Bourne movies.
This is a James Bond movie for the post-9/11 generation; Bond spectacularly tackles a free-running "bomb-maker" in the opening scene, foils an attempted terrorist attack at an American airport and takes on the villain Le Chiffre, a terrorist banker. Paul Haggis and the other writers have effortlessly taken a Cold War novel from the 1950s and made it seem like a story written yesterday.
Eva Green is a very striking-looking Bond girl, not your typical blond in distress. She plays Vesper Lynd, a strong, modern woman and a refreshing change from the bland model eye-candy of previous Bonds. Eva is tall and elegant and perfectly compliments Daniel Craig's left-field casting and the new look and feel of the whole movie.
Le Chiffre is a classic Bond villain; vaguely foreign, disfigured and rotten to the core. He lines up well with any villain from the Bond series. Bond's psychological tussle with Le Chiffre at Casino Royale is the highlight of the film. It's full of suspenseful moments.
The movie doesn't stint on the torture scenes and, if you're a man, they'll make your eyes water!
"Casino Royale" is sure to become a Christmas classic on television in years to come. I would go so far as to say it's the most enjoyable movie of its type since "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I enjoyed it that much. Can't wait for "Quantum of Solace."