Casino Royale Film Review

Casino Royale

Running time: 144 minutes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Morino, Simon Akbarian
Bond is back but not as we know him! From the very first brutal, black and white opening scene, Daniel Craig establishes himself as a tough, no-nonsense hard guy who, with his muscular body and rugged good looks, plays a much more physical 007 than other Bond actors. In the first, action packed, hour Craig, performing most of his own stunts, is tortured, beaten senseless and takes part in an exhilarating free-running chase across a building site that takes your breath away. Often bruised and covered in blood, his vulnerability makes his character seem more realistic and this performance easily earns him the title ‘the best Bond since Sean Connery’.
Skillfully directed by Goldeneye’s Martin Freeman, Casino Royale is the most entertaining, high-tension spy adventure movie in years. The gimmicks and gadgetry of many previous Bond films, such as Goldfinger, have been stripped away, together with the silly puns and camp humour (including ‘Q’ and Moneypenny) focusing the audience’s attention on the action. Whilst keeping several other elements of the classic Bond film such as the exotic locations (Madagascar, Miami and Montenegro) sexy Bond girls and an unusual ‘baddie’, Freeman uses modern technology to create some astonishing special effects (particularly the visually spectacular bomb scene at Miami Airport), that inject more excitement, thrills and violence into this film.
The plot is based on Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel in which Bond gains his two zeros and license to kill after successfully carrying out two authorised assassinations. Set in the present day, post 9/11, the newly promoted MI6 agent is then assigned his first mission; to beat villain and private banker to world terrorism Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) in a game of high-stakes poker. Casino Royale explores the early days of a rather rough,...