Overall Rating
 Awesome: 48.89%
Worth A Look: 29.33%
Average: 6.67%
Pretty Bad: 5.78%
Total Crap: 9.33%
10 reviews, 165 user ratings
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| Casino Royale (2006) |
by MP Bartley
"The One Where Bond Begins All Over Again."
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It's no exaggeration to state that 'Casino Royale' is probably the most important Bond film of all time. 'Die Another Day', the last outing for the spy, generated huge box office but also garnered probably the worst critical notices since Roger Moore's dog days (even if this critic has a slight liking for its sheer absurbdity) in the 007 role. Then there was the "will he won't he?" debate over whether Pierce Brosnan would stay in the role, before the decision was taken out of his hands and Daniel Craig was installed as his replacement. But even the producers didn't expect the backlash that his appointment would cause, before he shot even one frame of the film. "Too short, too ugly, too blonde" carped the naysayers, to the extent that whole websites were created with the express purpose of expelling Craig from the role (www.craignotbond.com). In short, it seemed that the entire future of 007 hinged on the first official version of Ian Fleming's first novel. But if the sign of a great Bond film is that it's an excellent action film full stop, then the producers can breathe a huge sigh of relief, as 'Casino Royale' puts all summer blockbusters to shame and is the finest outing for 007 certainly since 1987s 'The Living Daylights', and possibly even 1969s 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'.In a black and white opening sequence, we see Bond rack up his first two kills that he needs to gain his 00 licence, before we're into a poker themed title sequence accompanied by a growly rock number by Chris Cornell, that has the word 'slowburner' stamped all over it. It's clear then that this is new territory for a Bond film - the opening sequence doesn't attempt to be a mini-film in its own right, it's instead short and shockingly brutal for the rating, which is pushed throughout the film.
We then catch up with Bond in Madagascar, on the trail of a bomber. His attempt to capture him however, ends in a diplomatic incident and M (Judi Dench, the best she's been in the part) send Bond away to cool his heels while she considers his future. However, Bond ignores this and instead follows a link from the bomber to international terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who is setting up a high stakes poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. The reason for this is that Le Chiffre has been unwisely playing with his bosses' funds and has lost 100 million pounds - a sum he intends to recoup at the poker game to save his life. As the service's best poker player, Bond is sent to the game to beat and bankrupt Le Chiffre, thus sending him straight into the arms of the British government who will protect him in exchange for all the information that he can give them. Sent alongside Bond to keep control of the funds allocated to him, is treasury agent Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), while future associate and CIA counterpart Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) is also staked in the game.
Essentially, 'Casino Royale' is a retooling of the entire 007 mythology in order to get a true glimpse at the man beneath the tuxedo. There is no Q or Miss Moneypenny here (and neither are missed), while certain other elements are rejigged in a way that will delight all the hardcore Bond fans out there. Craig gets to utter that famous introduction, but not where you would expect him to. He gets to order that drink, but with a refreshing twist to the final instruction. And by the time THAT theme tune kicks in, you'll be surprised at just when it is, and just how little you've missed it. 'Casino Royale' takes chances that some would say a Bond film could never take, but pulls them off brilliantly. With it's emphasis on discovering just what makes Bond tick as a character and his love affair with just one woman, it's most reminiscent of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' except in reverse, as the first 90 minutes are filled with exhilirating action, while the final 50 minutes are the more character based elements.
This is not say however, that 'Casino Royale' fizzles out after an hour and a half though. There's a terrific climax set in a building slowly sinking into the sea, that means the film ends as superbly as it begins, while the poker scenes themselves are just as intense as the action scenes, but for totally different reasons. As Bond and Le Chiffre eye each other up across the poker table, glaring like panthers, the outcome at stake is never in doubt, simply because the character elements work so well, and aren't drowned amongst the effects and set pieces. Eva Green should take a lot of credit for this, portraying a character that is not just eye candy, but someone Bond can forge a realistic relationship with. She's clearly the best Bond girl since Kara from 'The Living Daylights' and sets up the stake of the film quite nicely.
But to get to the poker scenes, you first have to witness two of the finest action scenes to ever grace a Bond film. The first, a pursuit across a construction site, just hurtles across the screen at an incredible propulsion and is edited to within an inch of its life.
As the kind of set piece that favours stunt work over CGI it just makes you want to stand up and applaud by the end, as it's so brilliantly conceived and captured. The second, a chase across an airport runway, is just a shade less impressive, but still stands tall above anything else offered this year in an action film. These scenes work so well however because the tough and brutal consequences of such punishing moments are never glossed over or forgotten. Indeed, this is the first Bond film in a long time to immerse itself fully in the cold, harsh and bloody world that Bond films should function in. There's one scene with an assassin that leads to a scrap in a stairwell resulting with Bond literally squeezing the life out of his assailant in the crook of his arm - and the camera is pushed right into the dying man's bulging and agonised face, before showing a battered and bloody Bond exhausted, and on the verge of passing out. Blimey, you didn't get that in 'Moonraker', did you? Particularly when you consider that the infamous genital torture scene from the book, survives more or less intact - which is more than you can say for Bond's crown jewels.
The plot is relatively low-key - no plans for world domination or lasers in space here - just a man desperate to win a game, and so desperate, he'll do anything to ensure victory. Mikkelsen doesn't exactly rip the screen apart with malice, but he does convince you effortlessly that he'll have you killed at a moments notice. But a lot of the positive notices for 'Casino Royale' come down to the performance by the new Bond, and Craig deserves every one of them. He turns in an electric performance that ensures that, if he continues in the role in the same vein, the often raised argument "who was the best Bond, Connery or Moore?" will be moot - because the debate will be between Connery and Craig. He throws himself into the role with such vigour that he has you convinced within the opening 30 minutes, despite the fact he actually has little dialogue in this portion of the film. Instead, he convinces you simply by the astonishing physicality with which he attacks the construction site scene. He gives the film a huge amount of its verve, determination and energy simply by the way he grabs the film by the throat and drags it along with him, and also because he looks really really hard. This is a man you would not fuck with, and one you take seriously as soon as you meet him.
Indeed, he convinces in every aspect of Bond, not just the physical demands he has to meet. Refreshingly, this is a gadget-free Bond film, one that actually relies on Bond fulfilling his job title and doing some proper spying, with Bond forced to rely on nothing more than his wits and intelligence. Craig expertly suggests a character that is always thinking ahead, and always trying to be one step ahead of everyone else - he's a rare actor that can say a lot about a character by saying very little, and he uses this to prove just why Bond is such a dangerous and intelligent opponent. Craig does something that is very rarely done with the character of Bond - and that's actually act within the part. So when he falls in love with Vesper you believe him, and when he makes his last statement about her in the film, you believe his feelings there too.
This is a Bond that sticks very closely to Fleming's original statement of the character - he's massively egotistical, cruel (check out his grin as he dispatches one of his opponents at the end of one of the action sequences), a sadist (the torture scene grips not just because of what Bond is forced to endure, but his reaction to it - a scene that could have gone horribly wrong, but Craig sells it absolutely) and impulsive. Crucially, he also gets things completely wrong at points and people die from his mistakes (by the end of the film, ask yourself just what has Bond actually accomplished?) which fits in perfectly with the notion that this is Bond at the beginning of his career, when he's a rough, not perfectly formed, cold, blunt instrument. Craig pitches Bond perfectly, suggesting that every mistake, every death and every betrayal is etched into his brain, just by the slightest flicker across his face or the tiniest shade in his eyes. He's harsh, brutal, cold, wounded, unexpectedly humourous, and most importantly, human. He wrenches the character back from the edge of parody and restablishes Bond as THE defining character in film of the last 40 years. Take that, craignotbond.com.From the edge of disaster that 'Die Another Day' had seemingly left the franchise on, Martin Campbell yanks it straight back to relevance and importance (thus performing the rescue act on Bond, not once, but twice now) which is exactly where he should. Tough, tender, tense and explosive, this is Bond's riposte to the likes of Ethan Hunt, Jack Bauer and particularly Jason Bourne, and it's a blistering one. Welcome back, Mr. Bond. We've been expecting you.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=15275&reviewer=293
originally posted: 11/24/06 21:53:08
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USA
17-Nov-2006 (PG-13)
DVD: 13-Mar-2007
UK
17-Nov-2006
Australia
07-Dec-2006
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