Casino Royale (2006)
2006
PG-13
144 Minutes
Le Chiffre, a banker to the world's terrorists, is scheduled to participate in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro, where he intends to use his winnings to establish his financial grip on the te...
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: Whilst some attempts were made in the Brosnan era, up to this point the biggest bit of engaging character-development that James Bond ever really got in his series was through whatever demena the actor decided to lend - be it a look of sorrow peeping through Connery's disdaining swagger, or a flicker of the eyes offering glimpse at the heart behind Moore's cool, gentlemanly exterior. In Martin Campbell's 'Casino Royale,' though, Bond is given so much development that it wouldn't be a stretch to call the film a complete character-study.
He starts out as someone who's never taken a life, and we then effectively follow his tragic journey (yes, an actual arc) to become the cold-hearted killer that MI6 requires. Along the way, there are many scenes in the script where the harmful nature of his work is discussed and where his motivations and personality are picked apart ("you wear that suit with such disdain") and that all lends a degree of humanity that we've never really had before. Most of that is of course unlocked by his brilliant relationship with partner Vesper (Eva Green), as she really gets under his skin and attempts to strip him of his armour. That gives Daniel Craig the ammunition to bring a version of this fascinatingly cold, toxic and guarded character to life with genuine fragility, and he of course rises to the challenge extremely well.
Because you're engaged with the character, you're also consequently far more engaged with the mission he finds himself on, and with the wicked Mads Mikkelsen as the villain and a whole set of masterfully-constructed set-pieces (including the extremely tense central game of poker) guiding the narrative to its ultimately rather tragic and unexpected conclusion, you've got yourself an engaging character-study at the centre of a great spy-thriller. It truly put Bond in a new league this film, and that's coming from someone who genuinely loves this series more than most.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Perhaps it does take a while to really get into the meat of its story, as we don't meet Vesper for quite some time.
VERDICT: Bond finally gets the character-study he deserves; Martin Campbell's 'Casino Royale,' is a truly heart-breaking and emotionally-engaging film where you care about the narrative because you care about the people.0 member like this review.
