Satisfactory Bond, Unsatisfactory Film

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2007)

"Casino Royale" starts off well enough with an obligatory murder scene and an entertaining chase. Unfortunately, from this point, it's all downhill. The rest of the film moves very slowly and without much conviction. Anytime there is even a hint at an intense action moment, it dies away momentarily. There are so many problems with this film that it would be impossible for them to be over-shadowed by its triumphs. The acting is almost uniformly average. Judi Dench is witty as usual in her role as "M", but we've seen her in the role before. Eva Green tries her best to be clever and strong, but she ends up falling flat. Her character simply becomes more and more simplistic, never regrowing the intensity we see at her introduction. Daniel Craig has a similar problem as Jmaes Bond. Though he gives a satisfactory performance, he has no real hint of the fun and witty personality we've come to expect from James Bond. Instead, he seems to be more of a hollow shell. The worst casting decision in the film was that of "Le Chiffre." Instead of a classic Bond villain, he comes off as an ambitious pawn who seems to have a good poker game. Still, the film's biggest problem is the story line. The creators of this film have removed any trace of action-packed fun from the franchise. There are no gadgets, no exciting car chases, no "Q", and no scenes of true intensity that made the franchise famous. This is a simple, low-octane, and predictable poker movie that has been elevated to blockbuster status only because of the franchise it is connected to.