Ian Fleming's James Bond has arrived

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2006)

This is a staggering volte-face for the original action film series. When "Goldeneye" was released over a decade ago, I had high hopes that the Bond series was back on top again. Hopes that sadly dwindled as the Brosnan films carried on until we had the truly terrible "Die Another Day".
"Goldeneye" was Eon's response to "True Lies", and was directed by Martin Campbell - director of "Casino Royale", which is the Bond franchise's response to the hugely successful "Bourne" movies with Matt Damon.
"Casino Royale" is a sort of 'Bond Begins', a re-imagining of a classic character and, much like Chris Nolan's successful Batman film, "Casino Royale" goes back to the source material: Ian Fleming's novels. In doing so, Eon, Campbell and the cast have done something that we haven't seen in the 20 other films in the Bond canon: Put Ian Fleming's character on the screen.
Daniel Craig is the most authentic Bond yet: he is tough, bloody-minded, rebellious, charming, ruthless and (and this is the really important bit) he's a stone cold killer. Craig has a rugged face and bright, blue eyes which, when combined with the right lighting, can either make a woman swoon or a target faint. He is also an utter bastard, using and discarding people left and right, abusing his skills to further his mission and, in two brutal sequences, killing people without any remorse or mercy. Combine this with the fact that he makes mistakes, he gets careless and nearly pays for it, and he is so headstrong and determined that you fear he will get himself in over his head before he realises it, and you have the most characterful Bond we've ever seen. There is much not to like about him, but you have to keep remembering that he's one of the good guys: he's a killer, but he's our killer.
If Craig brings a ruthlessness and brutality to his role, he needs a worthy adversary - and he gets one in Mads Mikkaelsen's Le Chiffre. Without a doubt the most interesting bad guy in Bond history, he's a banker. He doesn't want to take over the world, he isn't miraculously more proficient at fighting than any of his trained henchmen. He is also, for a large part of the film, profoundly scared. This makes him interesting and, for the audience, unpredictable.
And then there are the girls - Solange is very much your typical Bond girl who falls for our hero's charms, but Vesper is a different proposition: A spunky accountant who can match our hero for quips and bon mots, holds his (financial) leash during the critical card game and, ultimately, shows us the horror us normal folk would feel if we ever actually met 007.
But this, one of the most brilliant resurrections ever seen on film, is not just about quality characters and good acting. There is top notch action that is superbly crafted, some sparkling dialogue, and a couple of plot twists that you will not be expecting. The free-running chase could be one of the very best action sequences not just in Bond films, but in the history of cinema.
This is a superb film, so why doesn't it get a ten? Well occasionally, just occasionally, Campbell overeggs his pudding. In a film that has a luxurious running time anyway a couple of sequences could have done with being removed and a couple of others tightened up (in one case I felt he missed a chance to jolt the audience and make a good joke at the same time) all of which would not have harmed the story, plot or character development one bit. Also there is the occasional clunker of a line which seems to have slipped through the net.
All in though this is a cracker. A full throttle re-awakening for Her Majesty's most famous secret agent. One of the most satisfying films of the year, and the best 'sequel' since "Batman Begins". This is like a very fine martini (shaken, not stirred of course) smooth, dry, satisfying and strictly for adults. Brilliant.