Movie Review: Casino Royale

By Anne Brodie Nov 15, 2006, 14:17 GMT

“Do you want that shaken or stirred?”

“I don’t give a damn.”

Hmm.

It is safe to say that Daniel Craig has joined the top ranks of the men who play Bond. He is the new gold standard. He brings street cred, impertinence, a rebel heart, so important these days; he bleeds, suffers, and loves, yet he retains Bond-ness.

He has a squat squareness and is more viscerally powerful than the rest. We don’t often see him in suits but when we do, whoa!  He’s like an unstoppable animal trapped in black silks.

Equal parts brawn and brain, he’s a departure from the smooth Bonds of the past.

Meant to be Bond’s first mission before earning his 00 designation as an assassin, ‘Casino Royale’ paints him young and green. He trusts and develops emotional attachments even though that is verboten in his world. “Trust no one” is the oft-repeated credo, with good reason.

No doubt, that Casino Royale is one of the best Bond films, but it’s not just Craig, it’s the writing, the stunt concepts, the international travel, the whole package. They have not missed a thing.

However, I must say it is funny to see Bond saving the world sitting at a computer like the rest of us.  Maybe that is part of the appeal.

Some of the Bond touches are gone and the familiar introduction “Bond, James Bond” is rather tacked on the end. The signature theme is missing except for a brief bar or two.

No disrespect to Chris Cornell, but the title song is lacking. I’ve always thought they were wastes of precious iconic Bond time. Displaying an artist instead of the action, distracts from legend and I’d rather hear the Bond theme as in days of old.

That is a little sad, but hey, time marches on!

The opening animated sequence is spectacular - it sets the stage for the poker games murder and mayhem to come. Kudos to the imagination that spawned this chilling yet entertaining bit of handwork.  Just as we gasp for air at its close, we are treated to what may be the longest and most thrilling chase scene in film.

French free runner Sebastien Foucan leads Bond on a rip-snorting run that seems impossible through every kind of treacherous landscape, up every kind of vertical thing and into the sky and water. Frankly, I lack words to describe it, but I won’t forget it.

Jeffrey Wright makes an impressive appearance as always, but some of the side characters don’t carry the weight of the film. Eva Green is a lightweight, not yet ready for this kind of exercise.

I’m sure Mads Mikkelsen is a fine actor, but he is nowhere near as evil as necessary.

It’s great to see Giancarlo Giannini back on the screen. But the award for awesomeness goes to Dame Judi Dench, a spitfire of an M, and actor enough to stand up to Craig’s big weight.

‘Casino Royale’ is a kick in the gut; a big blowsy masterwork in the action genre.

Hope Craig comes back often. Because he bleeds, he suffers, he falls in love, but he also emerges tougher, hungrier and ready to be truly Bond.

‘Casino Royale’ is a cut far above the previous recent Bonds and has something for everyone.

The Broccoli team has left no stone unturned in its desire to please us.

Opens day-and-date worldwide, November 17. MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.