A Different Bond Movie

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2006)

Daniel Craig plays Bond at the beginning of his 007 career when his character is still evolving. His Bond is more down-to-earth and less cocky. The film is more character driven than its predecessors with fewer stunts, chases and explosions. The amazing gadgets and the banter with Q and Moneypenny are no more. Bond makes his first kills and the violence is grittier and less cartoonish. He falls in love with his beautiful MI6 colleague Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), who is smart, witty and delightful. Unfortunately, the love story is an annoying distraction and really belongs in a different film.
Like all Bond films the plot doesn't make much sense. The Dr. Evil character is Le Chiffre, a fund manager to the world's terrorist organizations? MI6 finds out that Le Chiffre is planning to risk his client's money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to use taxpayer's money to play poker against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses the terrorists will be short of cash. In the real world MI6 and the CIA would have arrested Le Chiffre and thrown away the key. With no backup Bond is inevitably captured and there is a strange sado-masochistic torture scene.
Although the Brosnan films had become far-fetched and formulaic they were also enjoyable in their own way. The producers have obviously watched the Bourne movies and opted for more realism. Craig is very athletic with an impressive physique but the trouble with turning Bond into a run-of-the-mill screen tough guy is that he loses some of his charm. Although Casino Royale is entertaining it could have done with more action and humor. It will be interesting to see whether the producers fall back on the traditional formula for the next flick, although the film seemed better on second viewing.