Extending The License

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2009)

Daniel Craig would seem as likely a match with classic Bond like bratwurst with caviar, what with his broad apish shoulders, bull neck, and perpetual scowl. Yet Craig's 007 in this film represents one of the singular high points in Bond franchise history, not just by shaking our expectations but by centering a well-balanced entertainment.
Bond in the opening scene is still working on earning his double-0 status. Since this requires he kill two enemy operatives, we get a highly energetic opening that accentuates Craig's hard physicality as an actor. As the film develops, and Bond is called upon to defeat terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), Craig showcases a broader palette, especially when Bond becomes entangled with gorgeous but prickly MI6 accountant Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).
Craig's acting journey mirrors that of Bond in the story, evolving from being a "blunt instrument" (so-called by his boss M, played by Judi Dench) to something akin to "half-monk, half-hit man". Knowing Bond is going to survive the film is a given, but Craig's rawness and intensity keeps you from taking too much for granted.
Taken from Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, and adhering more closely to Fleming's plot than almost any other Bond movie before it, "Casino Royale" pushes the spy into new terrain without leaving old fans adrift. There's still time for a lame Bondian quip, and many familiar elements from earlier incarnations are either nodded to or vigorously added to the mix. Dench's M is the one holdover from the Pierce Brosnan Bonds, but instead of being a mere PC sop, she offers something akin to the distant but parental figure M became in the Fleming novels.
Even the look of the film is a revelation, crisp colors and natural light abounding. Director Martin Campbell finds ways to keep advancing a sometimes baroque story while serving his new star. A shower scene between Bond and Vesper manages the feat of being incredibly intimate but not sexual, and her hold on him is revealed in small moments. Asked by his contact René Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) if Vesper has "melted your cold heart yet", a wordless, sheepish half-shrug by Craig tells us more than words could ever say.
People complain the movie is too long. In pure minutes, it's the longest Bond movie; other 007s like "A View To A Kill" and "Die Another Day" only felt longer. Green may overplay Vesper's hauteur early in, but as the film develops she nails the character's more complicated and transformative scenes and emerges as one of the series's best Bond girls. There's a speeding car scene late in the film that makes no sense when you reflect back on it, but other story elements taken from the original novel are actually improved upon.
And then there's Craig, whose utter awesomeness as 007 can't really be overstated. I'm more of a Roger Moore man, but Craig displays more intensity flipping cards at the poker table than Moore did scaling cliffs or clinging onto funicular cables. He's so convincing in the action scenes that his moments of humor and empathy come across even more strongly than you'd expect.
This is simply the best Bond movie since "The Spy Who Loved Me". Craig captures something no other Bond actor has, Fleming's original hardened loner who might have more going on inside than he's willing to admit. Whether he can maintain that intensity or not, he manages here to give us a Bond for the ages, and at least another decade's extension on that license to kill.