Not the typical 'Bond' style. Perhaps on purpose?

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2006)

Casino Royale/2006/**1/2
Main Stars: Daniel Craig Eva Green Mads Mikkelsen
When it comes to James Bond, of which I am a huge fan, I expect Bond to be the typical dark-haired/eyed, suave, charming, petite Bond. Daniel Craig is the blond-haired, blue-eyed, gritty, tough guy Bond. Do I prefer the dark, don't-touch-the-hair Bond? Or the light, gritty Bond? Well I prefer the dark. Sean Connery is obviously the best Bond there is by far. But Craig shows a little more realism. He's not afraid to get down and dirty in more than just one thing too. Yes, the other Bonds are strong obviously but you never see them bleed nor sweat; or at least it's rare when you see that. However, Bond should be the mysterious one, who never has one hair out of place. You shouldn't see him getting hurt! No, no, no, that's all too real! Bond is supposed to be "cartoony" and fake. That's what makes Bond interesting. Yes, I love realistic films, but when it comes to Bond I expect a cartoon with gadgetry and charm. This had a bunch of explosions and deaths and card games. Goldfinger, which is the BEST James Bond film by far, is a cartoon practically with fake acting and gadgets but not TOO many explosions or boring parts. Casino Royale is just the opposite; too many explosions and too many boring parts which would be the card games. That's why the movie is two and a half hours long. Half is card games. A lot are explosions. However, the rest would be some interesting talk here and there. The talk was entertaining because of the words and actions James used. I didn't say Daniel Craig was bad as Bond, but I didn't say he was good either. Remember the dark is better. Perhaps there might be a reason why Bond isn't as good as he is in the other films. Remember this is the first novel of the Bond series. Casino Royale was the first novel Ian Fleming (creator and author of the James Bond series) wrote for the series. So maybe James Bond is not SUPPOSED to be good yet. He is STARTING to LEARN how to be the Bond he should be; meaning the classic Bond. However, this is set in modern times and not all the way back in the 60s. Who knows what the filmmakers wanted? But Craig DID do a good job. The MAIN reason why I gave this "a bit of a disappointment" rating is because the movie itself didn't have a very good story. I was expecting a great story followed by the acting, action, and obviously what Bond does best. But I only received three out of the four. I didn't receive an exciting story. Usually Bond stories are a little cliché, I have to admit. But this one was mainly about this man named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who needs to win money at a casino in order to fund terrorist activities. Bond is aided by an accountant named Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) whom 'M' places as her watchful eye on Bond to make sure he doesn't go out of control, and also just in case Bond needs help. They start a bit of a relationship during the movie. At the casino, Le Chiffre plays obviously Bond and a couple other no names. The card games weren't exciting, because they were longwinded, and I really didn't care. The only thing you're supposed to care about is Bond winning so that this evil guy won't fund terrorism. And if Bond wins, Le Chiffre's organization will be destroyed. Does he win? What happens to the evil man? But, in the movie, it kinda shows the guy is PRESSURED to win. He gets strangled by someone who really wants the money. Afterward, he cries, and instead of crying tears, he cries BLOOD! Isn't that terrible? I would definitely not wanna cry knowing that blood would run down my face a couple seconds later. That was an interesting part in the movie also, and, I have to admit, the guy DID play his part well. But as I told you before the story was a bit lame and not original. Anyone could think that this guy needs money in order to fund something. Kinda obvious when you think about it. I can't fund anything without money. Thank you, Captain Obvious! Movie directed by Martin Campbell.