James Bond is back and more bad-ass than ever. I have always enjoyed the 007 films, ever since I was child. The gadgets, the explosions, and the odd-named Bond girls were always refreshing and innovative. The only problem was that ever since Pierce Brosnan took over the face of the most debonair agent anyone has ever seen, the series began to steer more towards outrageous gadgets and unnecessary special effects.
Die Another Day was the last 007 film to feature Pierce Brosnan and was a huge disaster. Hale Berry, at the height of her popularity, was the first African-American Bond girl (she was given way too much credit for her so-so role as Jinx) and was almost given her own spin-off film until the horrid idea was thrown away. Even though the film was the most successful of all of the James Bond series, grossing over $160 million, it was the most critically panned since Moonraker (although, it did spawn the biggest theme song for the series since A View to a Kill).
Casino Royale reboots the 007 series, a la Batman Begins, thus creating a tabular rasa. Since James Bond’s past was never revealed to audiences, due to the fact that MGM passed on the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, this was a goldmine for Sony (who acquired MGM) to erase the atrocity that Pierce Brosnan left. Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the new James Bond is perfect. He single-handedly brings Bond back to the pedestal of pop culture with his suave attitude and ego. I like my James Bond with a side of ego.
Casino Royale opens with a bang, literally. We see Bond kill his second target, thus upgrading him to 007 status. M, played the amazing Dame Judy Dench, sees Bond as an arrogant, self-absorbed, and dangerous agent and wishes she would have never made him a double-0 agent. Bond, as suave as ever, replies, “Well, as I know, double-0s have a very short life expectancy. So you won’t be disappointed for too long.” When has Bond ever been this cool?
The plot of Casino Royale is that a private banker to the world’s terrorists, Le Chiffre, has lost some of his investors’ money, and must win it back before they find out. So, he sets up a high-stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro and Bond is sent to play because is the best poker player in the service.
He is then sent to Montenegro with a government accountant, who is in fact the first-ever Bond girl. This dubious honor is given to the extremely exotic and beautiful Vesper Lynd. She is also the reason why Bond has become such a womanizer. Lynd informs Bond that the treasury has given him the $10 million buy-in to Le Chiffre’s game, but she reminds Bond that if he loses, he will be directly financing terrorism.
The reason why Casino Royale works is due to many different things. First, introducing us to the beginnings of a character we have known for over forty years is genius. How could the public have gone all this time without knowing where the greatest secret agent of all time came from?
Second, the absence of gadgets shows how correct the statement of “less is more” truly is. This makes our 007 look more human and really allows Bond to be much more physical and thus provides extremely elaborate and tense action sequences.
Third, the film’s many worldwide locations gives us the sense that being a double-0 agent is exotic, which is always mentioned, but Bond is usually only in a few places during the films. In Casino Royale, there are ten locations, including Madagascar; the Czech Republic; and Venice, Italy.
Lastly, the film focuses more on character development and plot rather than gadgets, explosions, etc. This film shows Bond develop emotionally and mentally. We get to see him become the man we know so well. For example, when asked whether he wants his martini shaken or stirred, he replies with a simple, “Do I look like I give a damn?”
Overall, the film is a huge step-up from almost every James Bond film I have ever seen. Daniel Craig does a fantastic job as the new 007 and really allows James Bond to be much more physical than Pierce Brosnan could ever be. The action scenes are amazing, the fight scenes are tense, and the acting is impeccable. As a huge plus, because we all knew it had to happen sooner or later, the film ends on a high note with one of the most famous lines in movie history: “The name’s Bond. James Bond.”
Final Grade: A+