Casino Royale

‘James Bond will return’, the mantra slapped across the end credits of every James Bond film has, in recent years become more a note of warning than a cause for celebration. I have never been the biggest fan of the series; the old films can be fun and range from the good to the awful. I did however really enjoy Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as 007 Goldeneye and whilst his other films have been entertaining the quality has steadily fallen up to the less-said-about-the-best Die Another Day. So when Brosnan left and the series was put on hiatus I wasn’t too fussed, equally I was optimistic about the planned reboot of the series with a remake of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale helmed by Goldeneye director Martin Campbell and with Daniel Craig as 007, a bold choice that outraged fans. Well now I think it’s safe to say that the risk has paid off, finally we have a new Bond film to be proud of and that should re-launch and re-energise the flagging series for years to come. Updating the book to the modern day (and screwing with all sense of continuity in the process) the film deals with Bond’s inauguration as a 00 Agent neatly opening with his required two kills. Fast forward and we see Bond on his first mission, a breathless and brilliant elongated set piece that sets the tone for the film, harsh, unforgiving and relentlessly enjoyable it hammers home the point in no uncertain terms, this is Bond as you haven’t seen him before, bleeding, tireless and determined. Craig is a revelation as Bond, he brings a wonderful confidence and machismo to the role yet has a vulnerable side – and it is his most un-Bond like trait that the film explores and in doing so shows you a side of Bond we have never seen, and explains why he is the way he is in the process. Bond has never really had an origin story before and it is fascinating to see his history laid out here, to see the man he will be moulded through these events and it sets future films in the series up perfectly. The film itself has an unusual structure, the main plot ends about half way through in a sequence that could well have been the finale of any other blockbuster and it is in a high-stakes poker game that the focus on the film rests upon. Here Bond is chosen to play against Le Chiffre, a banker to terrorists the world over, in order to deprive him of winning the money he needs to pay off his debtors. The Poker scenes are wonderfully done and focus on the people as much as the cards building the tension expertly and never outstaying their welcome. It is the card game and the resulting events that the film is really about though and with a heartbreaking and emotional finish in Venice it twists yet again in a different direction. The action all round is great, the actors reign in their performances giving the still rather ridiculous plot credibility. Eva Green radiates chemistry with Craig and Mikkelson plays Le Chiffre as a human being, not a typical Bond bad guy, with as much to lose as Bond himself. If you are at all a fan of James Bond you should applaud this film, there will be sticklers who miss Q and the gadgets and awful puns, but when you look beyond all that you will realise that this in fact is James Bond as he was written, arrogant, brilliant, ruthless and flawed, and the series is all the better for it. Bond reborn and re-energised this is a fantasic film that rarely stops for breath whilst invigorating the series that has felt so weak lately. More please, and soon!