After the lukewarm response to Pierce Brosnan's fourth outing as Bond, Die Another Day, it was decided a fresh approach was needed. Dropping the gadget heavy approach and finding themselves a new take on the character with actor Daniel Craig, they decided to give the series a hard reboot with a Bond just promoted to the 00 status. Casino Royale, with a much more serious attitude and action, intrigue and suspense to spare turned out to be just what the series needed.
The newly promoted James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) is in hot water after botching a mission to apprehend a bomber left both said bomber dead as well as significant damage to an embassy. M (played by Judi Dench), puts Bond on leave while she decides what to do with him. Instead, Bond continues his invesitgation, picking up a trail that leads him directly to Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelson), a notorious arms dealer M suspects is staging terrorist attacks to manipulate the stock market. When Bond manages to stop one such attack at the Miami International Airport, Le Chiffre finds himself indebted to some very dangerous people for some serious money. He enters a high stakes poker tournament to try and recoup his losses. Bond is sent to try and keep him from winning, with treasury agent Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green) sent to watch over the money.
Daniel Craig made an impressive splash as the new James Bond, defying expectations and helping take the series back to it's gritter and more grounded roots, much like Timothy Dalton did when he came in after Roger Moore (and Dalton is getting a fairer re-assessment as Bond thanks to Craig's turn as well). Martin Campbell returned to the director's chair for this outing, relaunching Bond for the 21st Century much like he did with Goldeneye, as Brosnan's first outing. Keeping Judi Dench on as M (because why wouldn't you?) and chucking out the rest (including Moneypenny and Q, who I will admit I missed), they rebuilt Bond from the ground up, creating a more human and at times vulnerable hero in the process. As Bond's love interest, they found the magnificent Eva Green, who does a fantastic job at playing Vesper, portraying the hidden pains and the secrets of the character beautifully. She and Daniel Craig are magnificent together. Dench likewise continues to take the character of M to new and impressive depths. Mads Mikkelson likewise makes for an intriguing villain for the film in a star making turn for him.
The action is well executed, with the opening construction site chase between Bond and the bomb maker being an impressive stand out, even if I found myself wondering why when a villain starts climbing up during a chase the hero always follows, especially when there is clearly nowhere to go. Just once I'd like to see a hero character stop, realize they have no where to go and just say, "You know what? He has nowhere to go. I'm just going to wait here...and have a sandwich." Likewise, the climactic showdown in a crumbling, sinking Venice mansion is equally impressive and well staged. It's all the more impressive because there is very little CGI in the film, which is refreshing after the CGI overkill of Die Another Day. Likewise, the lack of gadgets in this film is a nice change and clearly needed after the ridiculous and notorious invisible car from the previous film. I always seem to like it best when Bond has to more rely on his wits than his toys from Q and this entry is no exception.
Overall, Casino Royale was a triumphant return to form, breathing new life into the franchise and creating one of the best entries yet. The film is one of the longer ones, clocking in at close to two and a half hours, but it is time well spent.
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