"I'm Sorry, But That Last Hand Nearly Killed Me."

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2012)

You can sum up the entire Bond franchise up in this film. It has a wisecracking main protagonist, many attractive women, a super-spy conspiracy plot, and of course, a deliciously evil villain. Except this film introduces a new element into the age-old mix. Humanity.
The film begins in black and white, as a man enters a building, at night. He enters his office, and sees his safe open. He whips around to see Mr. Bond himself, waiting for him. The man attempts to kill Bond, but Bond is to sly to fall for a trick like that. Bond ends up killing him, and the film begins.
Bond is shown to be cocky, arrogant and a womanizer with a preference, for married woman. So he tells Vesper Lynd, a cold calculating woman, on the train to Casino Royale, in Montenegro. Bond is on his way to play Le Chiffre, at a high stakes game of poker. Le Chiffre is barely hanging on, as Bond foiled a terrorist attempt that cost Le Chiffre millions.
What really makes this film different than every other film in the Bond canon, is the second half. With the opening half containing explosions, bombs, killing and chases, you will be ill prepared if you think the second half will follow suit. No, instead of being treated as a non-stop action movie, Casino Royale instead becomes somewhat of a thriller, a quiet thriller. That's not to say there aren't explosions, chases, or killings. No there is plenty of that. But there is intelligence behind the killings, the chases and the explosions. There is logic.
Part of this must be credited to Martin Campbell. He not only resurrected the dying franchise once, but twice. Credit must also go to Daniel Craig. His Bond actually made me care. It's heartbreaking to watch his transition in those last scenes. Eva Green rounded out the film with the greatest performance ever given by a "Bond Girl." She is sultry in one frame and heartbreaking in the next.
This is my pick for the greatest Bond film, of all time. Daniel Craig is the best Bond, of all time. Eva Green is the best "Bond Girl", of all time. This is not only a great Bond film, but a great film. If you haven't seen any Bond films before, this is the place to start. Believe me, you'll be hooked.