Bond gets violent again

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2006)

At the time of writing this, Casino Royale is already a triumph. It's been a major box office success across the globe, silenced all of Daniel Craig's naysayers and as hundreds of critics have said, "returned the series to its roots." But all hype aside, is it any good? The answer is a resounding, definitive and triumphant sort of. It has much to recommend it and is certainly the best Bond film since Goldeneye, but it's not without its flaws. Given how silly the franchise became with Die Another Day however, its refreshing to see the old familiar Spy in a far more satisfying adventure.
Craig you see is a much more rough and tumble Bond than we've seen of late. Throughout the course of the movie, he is more than willing to let his fists do the talking and gets involved in a number of bone crunching rucks. At one point he is captured and tortured violently, at another he is poisoned and nearly dies, he sweats, he bleeds and come the climax, he is covered in bruises and most likely carries several scars from his encounters. In short, Craig makes Bond look like less of an indestructible charm machine and reminds us all just how painful the job really is. What's more, he's given some utterly fantastic action sequences to get grim and gritty in. The first half hour of the movie is a roller-coaster of an introduction with Bond pursuing a African Parkour expert across a city before winding up at an embassy filled with gunmen who would be considerably better at their jobs if they'd included lessons in marksmanship and not standing next to pressurised air tanks in their training schedules. The climactic gun battle in a collapsing Venice tower is also great, with Craig pummelling his foes with fists, knives, electric cables and even a nail gun with ruthless abandon.
But Bond is only ever as good as his enemies are evil and given that chronologically speaking, this is his first ever mission it stands to reason that some delightfully slimy little reptile should come crawling out of the woodwork to apply for the job. That man is Le Chiffre (played by the brilliantly named Mads Mikkelson), a corrupt asthmatic banker and mathematical genius who is addicted to gambling and occasionally bleeds out the eyes. Thankfully that little genetic defect is the most outlandish thing about him and rather than having a vast subterranean lair and a penchant for doomsday weapons, Le Chiffre is more interested in saving his own neck from the terrorist organisations whose money he has squandered, an approach that fits in well with the general style of the film. Furthermore, there's also a terrific performance from Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, the most fully realised Bond girl in years. Rather than just being a set of curves, she is given plenty of emotional investment and the character is fleshed out more to the point where you want her and Bond to get together, not just fall into bed and be done with it.
But as I've already mentioned, the film does have its flaws and chief among these is the painfully long running time. At 144 minutes in length it feels somewhat overdone, especially when you consider how long it takes for things to get going. Bond doesn't even get to the titular casino until about an hour into the movie and his romance with Vesper is stretched out way too much. There is after all only so many sunsets you can sail into. The other principle reason for it not being the triumph it should have been either is the rather ham-fisted direction the plot goes in towards the ending with twists being churned out so much you start to wonder who the villain really is. Given that this comes immediately after the masterclass in tension where hero and villain come face to face in a nail biting poker game only serves to emphasis the flaws.
Regardless of these misgivings though, Casino Royale is still a very worthy addition. It isn't enough to bury the memory of invisible cars, helium breasted nuclear physicists, diamond faced mercenaries and Halle Berry but it still steers our beloved spy back in the right direction. And while some may bemoan the lack of Q or Money Penny, Craig makes a lasting impression as the new face of MI6 and should hopefully return to the role a lot more. This is a very enjoyable film and makes for a terrific last trip to the cinema of the year, it's just a shame projectionists won't let you fast forward through the ending to get to the fight.