Bond - reimagined!

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2008)

Being a Bond fanatic, I was apprehensive when Daniel Craig was picked for the role of the iconic titular spy, particularly when I learned that he'd be portraying the origin story of the famed 007 (or at least his first mission as a double-O agent). Blond hair was bad enough, but the fact that he was neither suave nor charming seemed to work against him. Within the first half an hour of Casino Royale, I was proved wrong on all accounts.
The story is an adaptation of Ian Fleming's first novel of the same name, and the plot is essentially the same. Of course, it's updated to the modern day, with the enemies being terrorists and launderers instead of Russians and SMERSH. In this one, an unnamed organization (which arises later on in Quantum of Solace, but of course, I will not spoil that) takes money from a terrorist in Africa, keeps it as a banker, and then uses it behind the banker's back to gamble it (at the cost of lives and legal property). Then, when they are foiled by Bond and lose all of the money, they must win it back in a poker tournament. Le Chiffre, the man behind the money, must play James Bond.
The plot is the only real bit of contention I had with the film. It seems far too simple for a true Bond film, and of course, it ends up being such. For that reason the producers added in extra fight scenes, extra twists, and of course, gave Bond a motive beyond just his duty to MI6 to complete the assignment at hand. Along with this is the handy fact that Bond's abilities are almost completely physical - no fancy gadgets, no grappling hooks from watches or hidden laser pens, no knives hidden in the boots, just pure physical ability. He's effectively become the Jason Bourne of spies, but even MORE powerful.
His personality has also gone a makeover. Sean Connery's Bond was known for being a womanizing, drinking, smoking and charming man, and women were of no concern to him. In Roger Moore's era, Bond became a much more romantic person, more subtle and clever, and in Dalton's era he became angry, emotional, and vengeful. Brosnan averaged the three predecessors and created a Bond who couldn't always control his emotions, but got the job done; someone who was capable of relying on his charm to get him done, but showing true concern for the women he saved or fought along with. The oft quoted "It's what keeps me alive" comment from GoldenEye summarizes this quite succinctly.
Daniel Craig's Bond breaks with this for a few obvious reasons. He is Bond before he becomes the super-spy. He's just been newly minted a double-O, and thus abuses his power. He falls in love quickly (although he seems to have a preference for married women), and clings to that love with a tenderness that I would not have expected of Craig, one that manifests outwardly as hard and unyielding but gives way to real care and comfort when his barriers melt. I learned with this film not to have any preconceptions with well-established characters. Vesper Lynd is perhaps the real hero of this, giving him a romantic interest and thus a reason to the film's rhyme. She stirs Bond in a way that we haven't seen since Tracy Bond was gunned down by SPECTRE.
Le Chiffre is another weak point, but not by much. His character is well developed, but his villainy seems relatively unnoticed since he does not ever encounter Bond in a fair confrontation. He tortures him - that too, brutally (I cringed as did the entire male population of the theater) - but he never quite confronts him as an equal. Still, he provides a good foil for Bond to develop on. Judi Dench as M is much colder, hardliner, and far more willing to take drastic courses of action than her previous incarnation as a separate M with Pierce Brosnan. This gives her character far more room to develop, however, and creates a unique relationship with Bond that we don't necessarily see in most other films.
CR is a promising film, and despite the relative mediocrity of its sequel, it provided a completely new paradigm for Bond, both physically and mentally. Aesthetically, it may be the greatest accomplishment yet for an old, classic film series.