A royale, without the cheese of its predecessors.

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2020)

Casino Royale transgresses against the familiar gun barrel intro sequence of the 007 franchise; instead blasting onto the screen with a grainy, striking monochromatic scene of Bond, in all his glory, brutally murdering a man in a public bathroom.
Following this is the opening title sequence - the first Bond to depart from silhouettes of naked women, instead opting for faceless male silhouettes; their bodies exploding into playing cards and guns shooting out hearts instead of bullets. Chris Cornell's "you know my name" is my favourite Bond soundtrack and very fitting for the Bond that's portrayed.
Daniel Craig most definitely revives a role that has been overdone. Ditching the playboy characteristics emitted from the likes of Brosnan, Craig offers a more well rounded performance as the steely assassin. Still loaded with thuggish charm, we are given the softer side of him - a romantic at heart who is actually capable of emotion. Craig is easily the best Bond there has been.
Le Chiffre defies the trope of a megalomaniac villain obsessed with world domination, which I liked. His blood spurting eye, devilish smile & the scene he tortures Bond was enough to make him menacing.
I loved that Vesper was fleshed out, and not the typical objectified woman who is bedded by Bond then killed by his enemies.
The parkour sequence & the hotel stairwell scene were edited to perfection, and though brimming with all the nail biting action you'd want - the tension created during the poker game between Craig & Mikkelson was equally captivating.
An interesting move was losing the gadgets. With no appearance from Q, and high tech gimmicks swapped for Sony Ericsson's; Casino Royale plays its strong hand with sly dialogue, believable acting and many near death experiences for the protagonist.
Con: i would have liked a scene to show the ultimatum Vesper was given