You know his name. You know his number.
[ Rick Swift disclaimer – one of our old writers really was a pompous “critic type” – he’s been shown the door, so I asked H-Man to replace his review – a review he didn’t even sign I might add. So you tell me, who got it right? ]
The H-Bomb: Back before “Casino Royale” was released in 2006, I was pretty much done with James Bond. I had been a fan of 007 since I was about 007 years old, but over the course of the Pierce Brosnan films, my interest in the series started to wane. Yes, Brosnan seemed like an ideal Bond, but let’s face it, his films (“Goldeneye” aside) were truly mediocre at best. After Pierce’s final outing, the campy crapfest that had him driving around an ice palace in an invisible car, dodging space lasers and Super Nintendo quality CGI, I had pretty much given up all hope for this series.
Then “Casino Royale” came along, and after its two and a half hours of ass kicking awesomeness, my faith was restored. Excising much of the silliness of the more recent films, it was darker, grittier, with a strong story based on Ian Fleming‘s first Bond novel, and a believably menacing, yet surprisingly human new Bond in the form of Daniel Craig. This was the James Bond film I had been wanting for years, and it did not disappoint. I was completely jazzed by the time the credits rolled on this baby, and I couldn’t wait to see it again. It instantly became my favorite Bond movie of all time. That was how I felt back in November of 2006. Now the question is, does it hold up some 4 ½ years later? Straight up answer: yes, it does.
The film, unlike other Fleming Bond adaptations, actually follows the plot of the book pretty closely, though granted, the story has been updated from the Cold War era to the post-9/11 world. Being that this is a reboot of the series, the film starts off with James Bond as a newly minted 00-Agent. It’s important to bear in mind that this is the beginning of 007’s career, because the James Bond on display here is often hotheaded, reckless, and at times overly cocky. His boss M (Judi Dench) considers him “a blunt instrument” and constantly frets over his bull-in-a-china-shop methods, but she can’t deny his effectiveness.
The story starts out with Bond tracking the source of funding of a vast terrorist group. A couple of chase scenes and a few dead bodies later, Bond finds himself on the trail a rather shady fellow known only as Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). Le Chiffre acts as sort of a banker/money launderer for many terrorists the world over. However, unbeknownst to his clients, he has been playing the stock market with their money. After a major bet of his goes south, thanks to Bond, Le Chiffre is forced into a high stakes poker game in order to recoup the lost money so his “clients” won’t replace it with his blood. Unfortunately for him, James Bond happens to be the best poker player working for MI6, and he aims to clean Le Chiffre out so he’ll have no choice but to seek asylum and cough up any information he has on the terrorist network.
Since Bond is not fully trusted by the upper management, they send an accountant from the Treasury, a lovely young lady named Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), along to more or less keep tabs on Bond. Their relationship starts out strained, but eventually a mutual respect and attraction forms between them. This is about as far as I can go without crapping out spoilers (for the ten of you who haven‘t seen the movie at this late date), so I’ll sum it up with these questions: Can Bond keep his cool and beat Le Chiffre at his own game? Does Le Chiffre, literally or figuratively, have any tricks up his sleeve? Can Bond trust those around him? And, last but not least, how many hits with a thick, knotted rope can his testicles take?
Now, like I said earlier, having recently re-watched “Casino Royale”, I think it’s still pretty much as badass now as it was back in ‘06. Not only is this my favorite Bond film, it’s high up on my list of favorite action movies of all time. This is the first 007 adventure to come along in ages that felt fresh and energized and that wasn’t just going through the motions with generic villains planning generic, take over the world schemes.
The action scenes, from the amazingly staged Parkour chase, to the brutal, dirty stairwell fight, had a visceral feeling that the action from past movies didn’t have. They’re violent (by PG-13 standards), ugly, and genuinely exciting in a way that they have never been. It also helps that these scenes, unlike other modern action flicks, were shot and edited in a way that we, the audience, could actually tell what the hell was going on, instead of relying on shaky cam and super quick editing (if only “Quantum of Solace” had done the same).
Another thing I like is the real suspense that the film manages to build throughout. It would seem impossible to have suspense in a Bond movie, since we know that Bond won’t die. But this film figures a way around this. Yes, Bond won’t die, but, unlike in the past, this is a Bond who is not an indestructible superhero. This is a Bond who sweats, bleeds, makes mistakes, and could potentially fail a mission.
To me, this is what sets Daniel Craig apart from the other Bonds, aside from his blond hair. He has a human quality that the others lacked. He is one tough motherfucker, but there’s also a vulnerability to him. As his relationship with Vesper develops, we find that there is a heart under the muscular exterior… a heart that can be broken. His Bond also doesn’t make jokey quips after killing someone. He is all business and no bullshit when it comes to this aspect of his work, as demonstrated when, after a particularly messy kill, he runs straight to a bottle of bourbon to calm his nerves.
What also makes this one stand out from the rest is that there is no Moneypenny for him to banter with, and no Q giving him any high-tech gizmos to get him through a mission. Some fans have bitched about this, but I’m glad they’re not there. The scenes with Moneypenny just wasted screen time in the later films, and I prefer Bond having to use his brains to get out of a jam, rather than relying on some Sci-Fi what-have-you from Q branch. I also like that they held off on using the famous Bond theme music, saving it for the very end after Bond utters his legendary introductory line. It made me appreciate it all the more.
Many people pitched a fit when Craig was initially cast, but I was not one of them, and now I sit back and smile at how vindicated I feel. He truly makes this iconic character his own, and I can’t get enough of his two-fisted take on the role. I take one look at his intense, blue eyed stare, and I have zero doubt that this guy is a trained killer who could seriously fuck people up. I would definitely not want to get on his bad side.
Craig’s Bond is matched perfectly by Eva Green’s Vesper. She has a mysterious, almost ethereal air to her, and she plays the role with both heart and intelligence. She is far more interesting than the average Bond Girl, and when the two characters fall for each other, I believe it, despite the fact that Green is given a truly awful line of dialogue to deliver at one point during their romance (Hint: It has to do with smiles and little fingers). Overall, Vesper is a very welcome break from the many vapid women that 007 has bedded over the years.
Mads Mikkelsen is terrifically slimy as Le Chiffre, a cowardly little weasel with a bleeding eye whose goal is not world domination, but simply to save his own bacon. He’s not the cackling, over-the-top megalomaniac that we’ve come to expect from this series, and I love him for it. Jeffrey Wright has a few great moments as Bond’s CIA ally Felix Leiter, I just wish he was given more to do, and Judi Dench makes a welcome return as Bond’s boss, M. The scenes where she goes toe-to-toe with Craig are dynamic, and she gives bar none her best performance as this character.
Director Martin Campbell, who helmed Brosnan’s debut, “Goldeneye”, completely tops himself here. He gives the film a classy, sophisticated look that recalls the early Connery films. Not only does he manage to make the lengthy poker scenes not boring, but actually wrings some real tension out of them. And did I mention that his handling of the action scenes is absolutely amazing. And if it was his idea to tweak the iconic gun barrel shot in the ingenious way that it has been tweaked, then bravo!
Is there anything for me to whine about? Sure. I could complain about how most of the movie’s action is loaded into the first act, and that it takes a little too long for the actual story to get going, and that the theme song by Chris Cornell kind of sucks… but I won’t. Those things don’t take away from my enjoyment of the film at all. “Casino Royale” is the defibrillator shock to the heart that this aging franchise desperately needed, and it made me into a 007 fan all over again. I’m really intrigued by the direction the series is taking with Craig, and all I have left to say is, bring on Bond 23 already!
