Bond is back! Better luck next time.

Rating: 5/10 (12 April 2007)

After the lamentable Die Another Day, a rethink for the Bond franchise was definitely in order. The new approach: a tougher, more brutal 007 with the plot emphasis on realism rather than far-fetched tales of world-domination, super villains, and silly gadgets. The last time the production team behind the world's favourite spy tried this, they gave us License to Killa film I personally loved, but critics seemed to hate. However, this time around, I seem to be the odd one out: critics raved about Daniel Craig's debut outing as James, whereas I struggled with the film, finding it poorly scripted and directed, and way too long.
Set at the beginning of Bond's career, Casino Royale sees the top spy first earning his 007 status (by killing two people) and then, after chasing down a bomb-maker, taking on bad guy Le Chiffre, banker to international terrorists. When Le Chiffre loses his investors' cash after a failed attack on an airliner, he attempts to win it back in a poker game at the titular Casino Royale. Bond, no slouch at the game himself, tries to make sure that this doesn't happen.
So why don't I like this film as much as previous outings for Bond, and who do I hold responsible? Well, I don't blame Daniel Craig: he looks the part and plays the charismatic spy very well, bringing a tough edge to the role which was sorely lacking with Pierce Brosnan.
I guess that the blame must be apportioned to scriptwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, and director Martin Campbell. The convoluted plot has loads of moments which stretch plausibility beyond breaking point, and Campbell's muddled handling of the movie makes following proceedings very difficult.
The first surefire indicator that something was up were the opening credits, which were devoid of the usual magnificent hypnotic blend of girls and guns; instead we get some crap CGI graphics.
The next iffy moment sees Bond pursuing a foe through a building site, with both men navigating the terrain with superhuman agility. As if they're playing some crazy full-sized platform game, they jump up and down and across all manner of obstacles with complete disregard for their own safety. Whilst this all looks very impressive, it is very hard to swallow. That's the sense of realism blown right there!
And the film's tense non-action 'highlight', Bond's card game with his arch enemy, is plain boring. Will Bond win or will he lose his £15million? Will I stay awake to find out? After much tedious card-play, Le Chiffre outwits Bond at poker in a move I saw coming a mile away, but, when Bond's luck changes, poisons our hero in a fit of bad sportsmanship (it's a good job Bond's new car is fitted with a selection of antidotes and a defibrillator!!).
Then, after an admittedly nasty torture scene in which James gets his knackers bashed, the film completely stalls with some lovey-dovey tripe which nearly sees our agent hang up his Walther PPK forever. A last ditch attempt to revive the audience sees James in one final gunfight in a sinking building in Venicea case of too little, too late.
As an action film, I guess Casino Royale is OK; as a Bond film, it's mediocre at best.