Casino Royale

Rating: 8/10 (4 April 2007)

It's a bit of a catch-22 situation watching the new James Bond film. What keeps bringing us back to watch them are the combination of outlandish fantasy and a sense of comforting familiarity  the Bond films are basically the same theme with slight variations, but this is what makes them appealing. With Casino Royale the filmmakers have gone a different direction; in fact, references to Batman Begins are not too far off the mark as this new Bond, like the new Batman, is grounded in reality. What is lost is the sense of the familiarity  with the new direction comes a completely different feel for the film.
The fact that many of the old Bond-isms are gone is both good and bad. There are few gadgets here (a good thing  Bond was becoming too over-reliant on his get-out-of-any-situation gadgets) and no Moneypenny. In fact, anything that can be classed as a distraction from telling a grounded story has been cleared out. Even the glib one-liners have been toned down, though not lost  there is still a lot of laughs to be had from watching the film. The filmmakers have, perhaps, gone a little too far with it though. The absence of the Bond theme is frankly confusing, given its almost revered status amongst theme tunes. Indeed, with its emphasis on reality, Casino Royale has lost the fantasy element that, whilst ridiculous, was nonetheless ridiculously entertaining. Because of this, the film feels less like a Bond film than perhaps it should.
That said, Casino Royale is an excellent film. For all the naysayers, Daniel Craig is a brilliant lead, capturing Bond's growth from slightly naïve, arrogant and cocky new 00 agent through his descent to stone-cold killer, via heart-melted lover. His development is believable as he learns from his mistakes and, by the end of the film, has grown more like the character we already know and love. This is helped by the supporting cast who all bring to life their respective characters, but particular mention must be made to Eva Green, playing Vesper Lynd. Her chemistry with Craig is electric, the screen buzzing with energy when they are together, so that their initial power play that then turns to mutual love is a joy to watch. Without these two great actors, the film would have surely stalled.
The style of the film is also a new development for the re-energised franchise. Beginning with a black-and-white prologue where we see how Bond earns his 00 status (cleverly incorporating the moment where Bond turns and shoots towards the screen) the film is given a welcome darker atmosphere. It's also a lot more brutal than previous instalments  this Bond bleeds, and after a fight is next seen sporting bruised knuckles. Coupled with a leg-crossing torture scene makes this Bond seem less invincible than the others (after all, Bond always wins  we're just not so sure if everything will really turn out OK in this one). Another interesting angle is of the villain, Le Chiffre (played with cold menace by Mads Mikkelsen), who has as much to lose as Bond himself, thus making him both more vulnerable and more vicious. The stunts throughout are jaw dropping, especially a free running section in Madagascar, in which the comparison between the runner's skill and grace and Bond's practicality is both clever and amusing. All the stops have clearly been pulled out  the sequence at the airport could easily have been the climax to any other action film  and the result is a fast paced, if maybe a little overlong, and well conceived film; any filmmaker who can give a poker game plenty of tension must be doing something right!
Overall, this Bond film is in a different league than its predecessors. Any franchise that has been going for this long can only survive by reinvention, so in the long run this may be a good change. At the moment, Casino Royale is an excellent film, just maybe not the kind of Bond film we were expecting, though in a refreshing way (catch-22, remember?!). But in a world of films like The Bourne Identity and Mission: Impossible, Bond must grow and adapt. And he has done so with skill and style. It may not be the Bond we are used to seeing, but I get the feeling that this new Bond will not be difficult to get used to.
Rated: 8/10
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