A Royale Performance

Rating: 9/10 (1 April 2020)

The much anticipated return of Bond following the abject Brosnan films did not disappoint.
The Broccoli family promised a reboot of the franchise taking the character back to his roots and this film certainly achieves that and more.
You get an instant feeling this is going to be a great film when you see opening scene with Dryden betraying M in Prague. This is filmed in black and white which adds to the impact of this scene. Daniel Craig shows his early prowess here killing Dryden. Humour and action are well balanced throughout the film and the opening scene is a good example of this.
Having heaped praise on the film so far, it is not flawless. In the scene where Bond chases the hitman you can clearly see the stuntman's orange hair throughout and I cannot believe the producers did not spot this whilst editing.
The Miami airport scene shows a plane causing a backdraft which blowing over a police car. This and the CGI looked a little clumsy and not very believable. This could have been edited out without any detriment to the film.
Chris Cornell's theme tune is an absolute winner. It is a huge shame he didn't get an opportunity to do another. It is a fantastic score, totally in keeping with the tempo of the film.
The casting is excellent apart from Eva Green, who, I just couldn't warm to, perhaps I felt the same as Bond did about her initially. I felt that Caterina Munro would have been better suited in the role.
Mads Mikelson was an inspired piece of casting as the ruthless and yet flawed villain, making a highly entertaining Le Shiiffre.
The film climaxes with the card game in Casino Royale, Montenegro where Bond eventually defeats Le Shiffre, which leads to Le Shiffre's downfall.
There are some wonderful character supports in the film, none more so than Mendel, the Swiss banker to the card game who has some scene stealing comic moments.
Daniel Craig was a relatively unknown actor to many when he took the role. He first outing established him as one of the best Bonds. He demonstrates a ruthless efficiency which wasn't believable or even evident with the Brosnan entries. His humour is subtle but nonetheless effective and only sprinkled in, which adds to the overall positive impact of the film.
Having read the original book many years ago, I found this film and it's characters followed Flemings book very closely.
This reboot has pace, action, a great musical score throughout, the script is
tight and the direction keeps you engaged throughout.
We now see a Bond as Fleming had written.
It leaves you shaken and stirred and wanting more!