Casino Royale – Film Review

After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations. Learning that Le Chiffre plans to raise money in a high-stakes poker game, MI6 sends Bond to play against him, gambling that their newest “00” operative will topple the man’s organization.

Is it just me, or does it genuinely feel like Daniel Craig has been playing James Bond for decades? The first time I had ever even heard about the character of James Bond was when I was eight years old when Quantum of Solace had just been released in theatres. Even though that was well over a decade ago, to this day, I vividly remember my parents getting incredibly excited to see it and heading out to the theatre on opening night to check it out.

For some reason, when they went to see the film, I still had no idea what it was. What does Quantum of Solace even mean? They got home from the theatre and told me how much they loved it, and they couldn’t stop talking about all of the action sequences. From this point on, I did some research and started to play the James Bond video games and instantly became a huge fan. It’s genuinely fascinating to think back on Quantum of Solace and realize that Daniel Craig is still playing the character to this day.

People that grew up with the older James Bond movies such as Goldfinger and A View to Kill understand that, at the time, Bond movies were over-the-top in almost every way, down to the cliché mustache-stroking villain and all. They had some genuinely hilarious moments and it was a series that wasn’t really meant to be taken all that seriously. But Martin Campbell‘s Casino Royale was really the first time people started to take the series seriously and recognize that with the right cast and crew, it could be more than just a goofy action franchise.

We all know that Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan were incredible in the role of Bond, but let’s face it – they weren’t really all that intimidating. They were cool, suave, and charming but they didn’t necessarily scare you. Daniel Craig is the first and so far only James Bond that genuinely comes across as deadly and imposing. Even though Casino Royale depicts the beginning of James Bond’s career, he still manages to pull off some deadly tricks that make his villains’ blood freeze cold. They understand that, as the years go by, this guy is just going to get more deadly.

And the same things can be said about Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre, who goes above and beyond the tried-and-true mustache-stroking Bond villain. Chiffre has legitimate motivations and goals in sight and doesn’t come across as corny at all – as a matter of fact, he’s kind of terrifying. Just looking at Mikkelsen’s calm yet scary facial expressions throughout the film is enough to give you the creeps. He’s a wonderfully written villain and one that is a genuine match for Bond.

A lot of people watch these movies for the action sequences alone and that’s totally fine – it’s kind of hard not to, honestly. Just like the Mission: Impossible series, it seems that with each passing entry, the stunts get more and more dangerous and the same thing can be said about Casino Royale. The film wastes absolutely no time with the action, opening up with an incredible ten-minute, high-intensity chase/fight sequence that instantly showcases just how wildly different this movie is from the previous movies that came before it.

But aside from all of the marvelous stunts in the film, I really can’t stress enough how masterfully paced Casino Royale is. It’s a nearly two-hour and thirty-minute movie that feels so much shorter than that. When you’re not watching Bond enter a room and take care of a bunch of henchmen with ease, you’re getting sucked in by the grounded and intriguing story about how Bond came to be and seeing all the relationships and enemies he makes along the way.

Casino Royale proved that the James Bond series could actually be something truly bold and daring with the right screenwriter, director, and cast. From this point on, the franchise was never the same and continues to evolve each and every time. It’s nearly impossible to not be entertained by watching this film. By the time the end credits of Casino Royale appear, you’ll want a second helping immediately.