James Bond: The Reinvention

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2008)

An MI6 agent brutally kills an underworld contact in a washroom and shoots a corrupt MI6 section chief to death in his office in Prague. For these 2 assassinations, he is promoted to '00' status. And thus begins the legend of James Bond, 007, suave and sophisticated secret agent, 'licensed to kill'.
Casino Royale is significant in two ways. It is not only an adaptation of Ian Flemming's pivotal first novel, which introduced the James Bond character to the world, but it is also a reinvention of Bond for the 21st century. The Bond portrayed here by Daniel Craig is a darker, cynical version of Flemming's Cold War-era character updated for the present day. In this film, Bond is truly a complex character, a blunt instrument who is in reality a tortured soul. This film presents aspects of James Bond which were almost completely ignored in the previous 20 films but were touched upon subtly in some of the novels.
The plot is more or less faithfully adapted from the novel, albeit updated from its original 1953 settings. James Bond, on his first mission as 007, investigates an international organisation that funds terrorist groups. After successfully preventing a bombing, Bond gains the confidence of his MI6 chief, M, who assigns him to a new mission. Bond must face Le Chiffre, a banker and member of the mysterious organisation, at the card tables in a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. Bond must beat Le Chiffre at the game, render the man bankrupt, thereby forcing him to surrender to MI6.
Craig's brilliant portrayal of Bond is supplemented by an excellent cast of characters. Judi Dench reprises her role as M, the stern yet motherly MI6 head. Mads Mikellsen plays Le Chiffre, a man of few eccentricities, but of insurmountable menace. Carlo Giancii is Rene Mathis, Bond's MI6 contact in Montenegro. Jeffrey Wright is Felix Leiter, Bond's ally in the CIA. And finally, Eva Green plays the enigmatic Vesper Lynd, Treasury agent and Bond's love interest.
With such an incomparable cast, plot and tone, Casino Royale is undoubtedly one of the best Bond films too date, surpassed only perhaps by the classic 'From Russia with Love' with its ending leading into the first ever direct Bond sequel, 'Quantum of Solace'. Make no mistake. The new James Bond is here to stay.