(best bond ever)

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2008)

So the reason my summary line is lower case and in parentheses is because initially I had it all in capital letters followed by your everyday period, but the IMDb politely told me DO NOT SHOUT in your summary line. So it's a whisper. Happy now?
Anyway, when I say that Casino Royale is the best Bond ever, I mean that it's the best film, although I would argue that Daniel Craig is also one of the best actors to play James Bond, maybe second only to Sean Connery. He fits the role of a younger 007 with such flawless precision that it's amazing to me that there is any controversy at all about his casting. I have heard that there were a lot of people that were upset that they cast a blonde guy in the role of 007, but that just strikes be as such a shallow and ridiculous complaint that I don't bother to take it seriously.
Having watched Die Another Day just before watching Casino Royale again, I am struck by how much more realistic the plot of this film is. There is nothing totally outlandish about the villain or the plot, and Bond is not presented as an infallible superspy. In fact, I think that's one of the best things about the movie. It's a prequel to all of the preceding films in the series, and Bond has just received his 00 status.
Craig gives us a portrayal of James Bond that's totally different from anything we've ever seen before. He's reckless and unpredictable, he allows his emotions to control him and he makes drastic mistakes. Craig gives us a younger and less experienced 007, showing us some of the formative experiences that made him into the character that we have come to know and love. Bond is embarking on his first mission since being granted 00 status, and his learning experience is not without difficulties.
A man named Le Chiffre makes a living by bankrolling terrorists, and after losing $100 million of his terrorist investors' money in a botched attempt to destroy a prototype plane that would revolutionize the air travel industry, he has to win back the money in a high- stakes poker game or face their wrath.
I just have to say that it's amazing that a Bond film that's about 30 minutes longer than the average 007 movie can be centered around a card game and still flow so smoothly and so quickly. Despite having not the slightest interest in poker, I was never for a second bored during the card playing scenes, which should tell you something about how well-made the movie is.
Le Chiffre is also one of the best villains of the series. He's scarred and has a bad eye that occasionally leaks blood (although he assures one of his investors early in the movie, "Weeping blood is only because of a deranged tear duct, nothing sinister." Right!). He has no plans for world domination of global destruction, but is instead in the very real world position of a bank-roller of terrorist organizations.
After the botched attempt to destroy a prototype airplane and thus generate a tremendous amount of money in the stock market, Le Chiffre instead loses more than $100 million, so he sets out to use his tremendous mathematical ingenuity to win back the money in the high- stakes poker game. MI6 sends Bond to participate in the game, informing him that if he loses, the British government will have directly financed terrorism.
The stunningly beautiful Eva Green stars as Vesper Lynd, who must surely be the classiest and most intelligent Bond girl ever, as well as the one with the most important and unique role and impact on Bond's life. Bond's experience in knowing her is not always good but it has an effect on him that affects who he is, and no Bond girl has ever done that before, except maybe for the woman Bond married in On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.
Best one-liner:
Bond: "Vodka martini."
Bartender: "Shaken or stirred?"
Bond: "Do I look like I give a damn?"
By the way, can I just ask one question? Why doesn't anyone EVER do CPR right in the movies?