Casino Royale - Review

Rating: Null/10 (1 October 2011)

After the Pierce Brosnan movies became far too farcical, the makers of James Bond changed direction and thank god they did. The new James Bond (Daniel Craig)comes across as a cold stiff, but fortunately he is rescued by a plot that is awfully good until the last 20-25 minutes.
In contrast to the recent Bond films, "Casino Royale" is smart enough to be relevant and interesting at the same time. In the aftermath of 9/11, one of the major preoccupations of western governments was to freeze the financial assets of terrorist organizations around the globe. So what could be more topical that to have a villain, Le Chiffre(Mad Mikkelsen), who relies on his gifts at mathematics and blackjack to lauder money for terrorists, make a killing at the gambling table and then share the profits with his terrorist benefactors. On top of that, Le Chiffre cries tears of blood, is unusually sadistic and has a hot girlfriend Valenka (played by Serbian model Ivana Milicevic). But that is not the only thing that "Casino Royale" has going for it. "Casino Royale" has a different kind of Bond girl too. In the past, the Bond girls were - let us be honest - sex objects to satisfy the appetite of the hero, James Bond. After all, in "The World is not Enough," Denise Richards was never convincing as a nuclear physicist. Then the Bond girl evolved into an action hero so that Hollywood could protect itself against charges of sexism by showing "strong women" beating up muscular bad guys on the movie screen. But against this backdrop, the Bond girl in "Casino Royale" Vesper Lynd stands apart. Vesper is sexually attractive, but she is not defined solely by that quality. Vesper is not an action hero, but her brilliant intellect more than compensates. In short, Vesper offers something very rare in a Bond picture: a Bond woman who is strong precisely because she is very intelligent.
Finally, "Casino Royale" presents some very fresh material, like an impending heart attack induced by poisoning, a phenomenal battle of wills at the blackjack table and a great torture scene. Unfortunately this picture was partly marred by a silly romance scene near the end.
7.5/10