Sublime

Rating: 7/10 (9 May 2007)

It's the ridiculous to the sublime. The ridiculous being the piece of horribleness that was "Die Another Day". "Casino Royale" is a sublime movie. Exactly what a Bond film is supposed to be like in the 21st century.
It's a magnificent piece of work. As tough as hell. Hard, modern, particularly uncompromising (that torture scene - eek!), action all the way, with an emotional centre, and the perfect way to take the series forward. I particularly liked the way that Bond became Bond during the movie, picking up the various elements that we have become familiar with over the years (the license to kill, the Aston Martin, the tuxedo and finally that iconic catchphrase.) I have said it before. Daniel Craig wouldn't have been my first choice as the new Bond. I would have gone for somebody like Gerard Butler. But with one small reservation, Daniel Craig is great as Bond. Really fabulous. He looks like a boxer who has lost a couple of fights (you can see it in his face), but a man you would hesitate to mess with and would not expect to beat in hand to hand combat ever again. A thug with a veneer of sophistication. (Is that the literary Bond? I don't know. It must be 20 years since I read a Bond novel.) It's a great acting performance by Daniel Craig, which let's be honest is not something that normally matters in the lead role in a Bond film.
A while ago I wrote that I was worried a massive departure from the girls, guns, gadgets, villains and action Bond formula would alienate the fans of the movie Bond as opposed to the literary Bond. "Casino Royale" is not that massive a departure. There are no gadgets as such, but everything else mentioned above is present. (Eva Green as Vesper Lynd? Oh, yes. Tasty enough to spread on toast and eat.) It's a shame there was no time to introduce a new Q or a Moneypenny. I would have liked to have seen new actors playing those characters, even in very short scenes, but no doubt they will appear in the next film. (And the next film already looks as thought it could be quite intriguing, doesn't it? Who wants to bet that the shadowy organisation at the heart of "Casino Royale" is actually Spectre and that the head of that organisation is actually Ernst Stavos Blofeld?)
A criticism. Er... I didn't like the theme song, that much. OK. I suppose it was alright, but "Casino Royale" needed a ballad and it needed a Bassey, not soft rock. Also, that reservation about Daniel Craig that I mentioned earlier? It's that Daniel Craig comes across more as a fighter than a lover. I didn't really believe him in any of the love scenes.