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Casino Royale is certainly a kick in the backside of the Bond franchise. The behind-the-scenes people have taken numerous risks with this film and they've paid off in a big way, resulting in the best Bond film for years (I prefer it to GoldenEye, generally seen as the best Brosnan instalment). Daniel Craig does an excellent job in his debut, and it's certain that the film would not be such a success without his performance. Pretty much every other element falls into place too, though - the action is top notch and adrenaline pumping; the Bond girl (Eva Green) is a well rounded character, superbly performed; and the villain, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), is terrific, in a more understated way than most Bond villains. The locations are brilliantly utilised too, and feel very fitting for a Bond film. David Arnold's score is also very effective; it could be accused of being "Bond music by numbers" but I found that it worked extremely well. The key difference with this Bond compared to his predecessors is that this one really feels like a killer. The love interest is also well developed and you really want these two to live happily ever after. Looking at the film objectively, there are flaws: it probably is too long (but didn't feel it to me), and there is one romantic interlude towards the end that could feel a bit drawn out to some. My personal opinion, though, was that the flaws were extremely insignificant. Crucially, in the quest for realism and grittiness, the entertainment value has not been lessened: there are brief, mostly well-judged moments of levity and some great witty dialogue. Simply put, I thought Casino Royale was a fantastic film.
The summary
See it.
