Casino Royale 2006 Film Review

Out of all of the more modern James Bond era the most popular one is quite easily the Daniel Craig era which is understandable as the actor has starred in the last five official James Bond films. With that run starting with the film that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today as this film did come out during a time where no one was treating the Bond films as seriously as they do now with this film really helping to chance that perception just a little bit and so then me as I review the film that starts the James Bond timeline over from scratch with the film in question being called simply just "Casino Royale" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when a terrorist financier enters a high stakes Poker game it's up to newly crowned double 0 agent James Bond to stop him before it's two late. Now then in of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as it was a good enough plot to stop of the James timeline from scratch as it's not that heavy of a plot and is one that can get new fans into the franchise due to the nature of the fact that it's a prequel whilst also making old school fans happy as it has alot of what they loved about the James Bond franchise from a storyline point of view in it as well with the only issue regarding the plot of the film being the fact that it could be seen as being on the weak side as when Bond does complete his mission the film then continues on for no reason with there being no story left to wrap up when ending the film when Bond did win the poker game would have made sense as that what was the whole plot of the film was leading up to and therefor there was no need to show us Bond and Vesper in Italy at all as there was no plot to those scenes with those scenes feeling like they were added on to the film so that they can pad out the films running time when it really wasn't needed with the plot of this film being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

This film was of course the first film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond , Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter and the returning Dame Judi Dench as M. Now then in of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually feature / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with all f the acting from the main MI6 regulars being really good which is not all that shocking for Dame Judi Dench as she of course played M in the Pierce Brosnan films as well with her doing a really good of playing in this film as well and while Daniel Craig does turn in a good performance in this film as well his performance would rather understandably get alot more better in his later James Bond films as here while he is good in this film he is still getting used to playing what is truly an iconic character with Jeffrey Wright being just as good as you'd expect him to be as here he's just as cool and as confident as his character is and that is something that does shine through in the final performance as just as we the audience are trying to work out of if we like this new James Bond so is Felix Leiter as well and in that regard that does make Felix the audience character for this film as well as his character would act that way towards Bond as he is still trying to work out if he likes Bond or not with it being really hard to say just how out of these MI6 regulars turned in the best performance in this film as being realistic here anyone of them could have layed claim to that and it would be totally understandable as well.

Also starring in this film is Eva Green as Vesper Lynd , Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and Giancarlo Giannini as René Mathis. Also starring in this film is Tobias Menzies as Villiers , Isaach De Bankolé as Steven Obanno , Simon Abkarian as Alex Dimitrios , Ivana Miličević as Valenka , Caterina Murino as Solange Dimitrios , Claudio Santamaria as Carlos , Sébastien Foucan as Mollaka and Jesper Christensen as Mr. White. Now then in of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with all of this films guest actors turning in some really good performances in this film all of whom do hold there own when it comes to either acting with Daniel Craig or Dame Judi Dench as well something that wouldn't have been that hard of a task to do with the best actor in this film from the guest actors being Eva Green as she not only has to put on accent for the role which wouldn't have been easy she also has portray all of these different emotions towards Bond and yet do it in a subtle way that doesn't let Bond himself know what's really up with her and heck some her best acting doesn't come with any dialog as it just comes from the facial expressions that she makes all throughout the film with the best example being the shower scene as after she has not only witnessed Bond kill someone but also played a part in it she just breaks down crying with the only thing that Bond himself can do to comfort her is just be there for there for and that is something that comes across in the acting from both Eva Green and Daniel Craig with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Unlike alot of the James Bond films which usually have two Bond girls in this film we have just the one with it being Vesper Lynd who is course played by the seriously stunning Eva Green. There is not really alot that be said about her character that hasn't already been said as she's just that well written of a character and while she might not be my personal favorite Bond girl as to me that will always go to Andrea Anders I can see why people would flock to her and really like her character but to me personally tho there's really nothing to her character as for me a good Bond Girl needs to have that element that they could die if there so much as seen with Bond out in public as that adds an element of danger to them and that is something that is very sorely missing from Vesper as while yes granted she is drop dead gorgeous knockout you also get the feeling that she knows how to handle herself in a fight and seeing her quick actions when of the bodyguards tries to reach for his gun as being is chocking him out it does make it come across as that she knows what to do should she be out in a position where she would have to defend herself but at the same time tho seeing just how far she would go to save Bond's life even at the cost of her own does make her standout as a character as no other Bond Girl has willingly gave up there life to save Bonds and even knowing that she gave up the money that they earned knowing that it would mean that the British Government would directly funded terrorism just to save either Bond or her boyfriends life does make her seem like a complex character even if the other Daniel Craig James Bond films kept on bringing her up for literally no reason whatsoever except for Quantum Of Solace.

To compare Vesper to another Bond Girl for just a minuet both she and Tracy Bond do share two things in common as not only are they the main lovers for there respective Bonds but they also died in their early film appearances as well. With both characters deaths even effecting Bond in his other films as well as in Diamonds Are Forever he openly seeks vengeance against Blofeld for the part that he played in the death of Tracy and in the very next film that's exactly what the Daniel Craig version of the character also sets out to do against the Mr. White character as well and heck even Tracy's death would even be something that would be brought up in multiple Sir Roger Moore James Bond films as well while the death of the Vesper would also be something that is not only mentioned in alot of the Daniel Craig films but we would also see pictures of her as well with the difference being in the Sir Roger Moore films they were done to tip it's hat to On Her Majesty's Secret Service with the characters grave even being seen in "For Your Eyes Only" thus showing in a subtle way that Bond does still care who her character and heck her death is even the better of the two due to the fact that it's something that you don't see coming where as with Vesper no only was her death something that you can see coming but it's also something that was to mock and torture Bond with Bond himself not really getting over her even in "No Time To Die" which not only doesn't to the James Bond character any justice it also overplays the impact that the character has on the James Bond films as a whole where as in Quantum Of Solace bringing her up there made sense due to the fact that that film takes place five minuets after this film it doesn't make sense to keep on mentioning the character something that just wasn't the case with the Tracy Bond character.

Believe it or not this film is actually the most adapted James Bond book as before this film came out there had been two other vastly different takes on the book. With the first one being a 1954 adaptation done for the anthology series Climax! with the second one being the more well known spoof version from 1967 with the first version being one that made so many changes to both the book and it's characters like changing James Bond name to Jimmy Bond who is now and American agent instead of an MI6 agent and Felix Leiter is now Clarence Leiter who is now British and works for the British Secret Service with those two changes just being the tip of the ice berg to the changes that were actually made to the story and it's characters and while the 1967 film version of the story does keep in the James Bond name and a few other characters and a loose tie to the original plot that film makes changes as well is now there are several James Bonds in the film which is something that they do explain in the film in a way that does make sense in the context and tone that that film was going for and where as both this film film and the 1954 version of the story play things straight and keep things as close to the book as they possibly could do the 1967 take on the book takes the complete opposite approach by making the story a comedy with it being a spoof of spy films in particular the James Bond films and also making so many changes to the original story that it's only Casino Royale in name only as that's how little that it has to do with the actual plot of the book as that film makes alot of changes to the books plot thus oddly making this film the most true to the book version of the story out of the three other screen adaptations.

Of course doing the production design for this film is Peter Lamont and if you've read any of my reviews for quite literally any of the James Bond films that he's done then you'll know that he can be very hit or miss for me personally. With this film being one of the few hits as all of this films sets to look like that they would fit in with the world of James Bond but at the same time tho none of this films are the massive sets that we've all become accustomed to in these films which is something that might work well enough in this film as it could be argued that the casino set which should be massive isn't because it's emphasize the fact that it's more claustrophobic which does in that regard work but at the same time tho when casino sets from the sixties look more better and more lavish then the main casino set in this film then there's a clear disconnect going on here but at the same time tho it could be argued that the plane set is meant to be small because of the fact that the interiors of plane's are small which is something that does work for this film as it does show that the makers of this film are going for a more realistic approach with this new era of James Bond films but at the same time if it aint broke don't fix it as while yes the Pierce Brosnan films did get a bit two cartoonish for their good what they all had was memorable sets and that's the one thing that this film doesn't have as there's not one single set in this film that you actively look forward to seeing when you put in the movie in where as with say Goldfinger for example you look forward to seeing the Fort Knox set as it's something that's memorable.

The right person to direct the forthcoming James Bond movie has to be this films director Martin Campbell. As not only does he have the experience needed to make a great James Bond film but he's also been responsible for basically rebooting the franchise and bringing it back from the dead not once but twice with Goldeneye and this film therefor it makes him the only logical choice to make the next James Bond film as that will then not only get fans on side as well as they will have a director that they both know and trust to make a good James Bond film but he's more then proven himself worthy of knowing how reinvent the James Bond franchise for a more modern audience as well something that alot of directors just don't have because of the fact that they've not made a James Bond film before now and yet not only ha he made two of them but he's made two good ones as well yet this is something that Amazon won't do as bringing him back is something that just makes to much sense but on the other hand given that one of that films new producers David Heyman is known for giving the fans what they want as he also produced the first two Paddington films as well as all eight of the Harry Potter films there is still a chance that we could Martin Campbell back to make a third James Bond film and if that is the case then that should set alot of fans minds at ease as right now we have no idea on if the next James Bond film will be good or not but if we have someone who has directed two of them then it will help to reassure the fans that the franchise is in safe hands with that also meaning that you'll get them to see the movie before the film has even come out because that's how loyal James Bond fans are to this truly iconic franchise.

While the very fact that this film is a prequel does make it somewhat predictable as we now know that James Bond is going to make out of this film alive and well due to the fact there adapting the first in a very long line of books. What this film does do brilliantly with that prequel aspect is introduce small pieces of the iconography to the franchise like seeing how Bond got his double 0 status to seeing the gun barrel sequence done in a new fresh way something that we really hadn't seen before now to even how Bond got both his car and his iconic drink there all small things that are re-introduced in this film in ways that won't confuse new comers to the franchise but also give us old time fans the thigs that we've come to expect from these films with this trend even carrying on in the next three Daniel Craig James Bond films as well as all of the reintroduce aspects of the franchise so that slowly but surely we get the franchise back to where it was with the things that it had from the sixties and seventies and by that point we have a bunch of new fans to the franchise as well where as if this film had everything that all of the previous films had from the gadgets to even all of the MI6 regulars not only would it have bee far to much to soon but it also would have detrimental to the story as at it's heart this is a very grounded story and therefor having the more over the top elements of this franchise in it would only serve to hurt the story rather then help it whereas if you slowly but surely reintroduce all of those elements then not only does it make them more important to the franchise but it also means that the new fans get to appreciate them as much as the old fans do as well.

While this film does gave quite alot of things that are going for it one of the few things that it has working against it is the fact that it feels alot more like a romantic comedy then it does a James Bond film. As for alot of the time in the middle of the film we just see Bond and Vesper growing closer and closer with them making jokes about each other and even starting to have feeling for one another and while that might be great for the second half of the film it also means that the film can't build up any tension as alot of the time the film film comes off as being like a romantic comedy and therefor you can't build tension because us the audience are there just waiting for them to tell a joke and when they don't and they play the scene straight and then has tonal whiplash as just a few scenes earlier that's exactly what they were doing when the makers of this film should have been alot more focused on giving us a film that actually both looks and feels like a James Bond film as while getting more women into the James Bond franchise is a great way to grow your audience there not nor have they ever been the franchises main audience as those have always been men and alot of men don't like or watch romantic comedies and while a film like On Her Majesty's Service can get away with having those romance elements in place as it's a key part of the films plot here because of the fact that the romance angle of the film doesn't take centre stage until AFTER the main plot of the film has already wrapped up it makes no sense for this film to have those romance elements in this film as they have no impact on the actual main plot of the film whatsoever.

Whilst other films in the official James Bond franchise have only teased with the idea of killing of James Bond this film actually almost does it. With him almost dying after being drugged and struggling to get a machine together in in his car that will restart his heart which is such a good way of adding both tension and drama to the film as while we know that Bond won't be dying in this film due to the fact that he's got more appearances in other books it is a scene that still does make you wonder if this James Bond can die as he is still a newly crown double 0 agent at this point in time and there he wouldn't have been tested by his foes just yet until this mission and while it wouldn't be until Daniel Craig's final James Bond film where the character does quite literally get blown up it's this scene right there that does make you wonder if he could now die as we've seen him stay alone in all of the other James Bond films and yet it's in this one film where he does almost bite the dust with it being done in a very well done scene and it's something that makes you both wonder why and glad that they didn't try to replicate this scene in other Daniel Craig James Bond movies as it just wouldn't have made sense for them to do so where as with this film given where it takes place in the time line not only does it make sense it also works really well because of it as now we get to see the idea of Bond searching his entire room incase it's bugged with that being something that was most likely setup because of what happened to him during this scene as he would now have to always worry that some other spy or villain will always be trying to kill him something that he wouldn't have had to have worried about now.

While alot of the villains for the first James Bond film to feature a new actors as James Bond himself are usually on the weak side of things. They usually have something about them that at the very least makes them stand out a bit more as characters where as this is simply not even close to being true for Le Chiffre as the character is not only a very weak villain even for this film he also has nothing interesting about him so he can't really standout as a villain either with this not really being helped by the fact that this film goes out of it's way to show us that Bond wouldn't have to try all that hard to beat him as everybody who comes close to him can beat him up and heck he does get beat up and help at sword point at one point in the film with his body guard right there in the room with him with the film not even giving us a reason as to why he is the way that is his which fair enough is also true for alot of the villains in this franchise as well but with them there's at the very least something about them be it a scar on their face or superior intellect or even metal hands that make them stand out as villains where with Le Chiffre and alot of th other more weaker villains in this franchise like Stromberg and Max Zorin there's nothing interesting about them and so they just fall into the background of other better villains which in the case of Le Chiffre does make sense as he is the first real villain that this new version of James Bond does come up against but at the same time from a film point of view you still need to make an interesting villain and not someone that your going to forget about five minuets after watching the film as that's just bad writing and that's not how you want to start this new era off as you always want to lead with your best foot forward.

This films opening titles where of course done by the really great James Bond title regular Daniel Kleinman. With the titles that he made for this film looking really good as they used a mixture of both CGI and live action with them adding in nice little detail like the 007 logo being made up when a bullet fires to shots in a seven of hearts card or even having Vesper Lynd herself make an appearance during them as while these films titles might not be the best that the series has every produced they are a sign that creativity is still abound even in what we now understand to be the final era of James Bond films as we now them to be with this films opening titles being really creative and really nice to look at as well with the incorporating elements from Casino's which was a nice little touch as it would have been super easy for them to use the opening titles of this film to show us how Bond has been since he got appointed to double 0 status as that would have been an interesting thing to see but keeping the focus squarely on the casino aspect of the film does make that part of the film rightfully feel more important as that's where we're going to spending the vast majority of this films running time and having Daniel walk out at the end of the titles in full James Bond costume was just the tip of the ice berg as it's that moment that really does help to sell you on the fact that he's a new James Bond for a new generation of James Bond fans with the titles really being helped by the fact that the visual match up perfectly with the more rock focused opening song something that just wouldn't have been possible even a few films ago as alot of the older James Bond films had more classic pop ballads for there opening title song and therefor having more rock focused opening titles just watch jell with the song.

This films opening song is "You Know My Name" and is sung rather well by this songs singer , songwriter and producer Chris Cornell. With the song having alot more focus on rock which is something that really does suit this more action heavy interoperation of the James Bond character as gone is the wise quacking quip spitting character of old and in is a character that will only give you one warning before then proceeding to beat you up should you cross him again and that is something that this films opening title song more then matches with the song as mentioned more then matching up to the visuals of the opening titles with the both being very energetic and fun to either watch or listen to with it being helped by the fact that the song is also really well sung with singer Chris Cornell having the vocals to match this more rock heavy song with that song being so good that it makes you wonder why they went with a more R & B focused song for the next film as this film more then proved that you can have a rock song in a James Bond and still have it feel like a James Bond song as the lyrics to this song more then match up with the more rock and roll nature of the nature of the film and yet it's only in this film that we get a rock song for the opening of a James Bond film which is something that both does and doesn't make sense it does make sense in that this new Bond s more rough around the edges and there for the song should reflect in that in this film but at the same time tho it doesn't make sense because of the fact that those edges barely if ever get smoothed out in his other films and therefor having more rock songs even if there not heavy rock songs would still make sense to have as songs for a James Bond film.

This film does the impossible and it manage to make a game of cards tense which is something that really shouldn't be possible to do on film given just how hard it is to follow a game of cards of films anyways. Yet this film manages to do so effortlessly with this mainly being due to the editing by Stuart Baird but it's also being due to the direction by Martin Campbell as well with there being alot of tight close ups and very few shots of the camera moving around with the camera just staying in one position for large portions of the game all of which combine to make this game feel alot more tense then what it really had any right to be and while the film doesn't make it any easier to understand just how you play the game exactly it doesn't need to as you can tell from alot of the dialog just who is winning with the idea of these two people who can't say if they have the upper hand just trying to outwit and and outsmart each other which does make the game seem alot more tense and even the constant breaks to other locations in the film does help to make the game scenes feel alot less tiresome as well as they very easily could have been a chore to sit through but because of the fact that there so well done in this film they not only end up being very easy to sit through but they also end up being some of the best scenes in this film as they are scenes that are just that well done with it being clear as day that thee makers of this film knew full well that they had to make these games scenes not only tense to watch but also fun to watch as those are the scenes that are going to require alot of attention from us the audience and it's something that this film pulled off effortlessly.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly two hours and twenty four minuets and thirty three seconds. Which even for a Daniel Craig James Bond film is a very long running time to have as while this film does have more then enough plot there to cover that running time it doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as instead of focusing on it's main plot the film instead focuses alot of it's running time on the romance between Bond and Vesper something which isn't needed as it adds nothing to the overall plot of the film as is the whole sequence after the scenes in the casino as we don't need to see Bond and Vesper taking a holiday in Italy as just showing them winning the money and beating the main villain at his own game would be more then enough to conclude the film on and leave the audience happy but for whatever reason the makers of this film thought that really did need those extra twenty or so minuets to be the main focus of alot of the film when all those scenes do is bog down the films pacing and and to make the film feel like a chore to sit through when up until that point the film had been hugely entertaining to watch with it not really being helped by the fact that this film doesn't really flesh out it's characters all that much either as while it's understandable that Bond himself doesn't get fleshed out due to the fact that he's a secretive character and we have the entire franchise with him as the main character the film doesn't even flesh out any of it's new characters thus making it alot more harder for us the audience to form any kind of connection with those characters but I really will it that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With this film making great use of dong stunt practically and making very little use of CGI aside from removing wires and that's really it with it being helped by the fact that we get to see this new James Bond bleed alot of the time something that we very rarely if ever got to see during the later Pierce Brosnan films with us even getting the chance to see that aside from the really dangerous stunts alot of the time it is actually Daniel Craig doing these fights scenes for really which means that when we see this new Bond run through a wall it really is Bond doing it as it's Daniel Craig himself doing the stunt with the best action scene in this film being the opening chase scene as we get to see just how different this films action is when compared to what we were getting just one film prior as instead of getting gadgets galore we now have to see Bond think of his feet and use whatever is at his disposal around him at the time to get the man with the true highlight seeing both Bond and the person that he's chasing fighting on top of a crane something which was done practically and it looks so much more better because of it and while the action does go down a little bit after then it still doesn't change the fact that that opening chase was the best chase scene in this film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this film was a solid start to this new era of James Bond films as it gave us a more darker and more ruthless James Bind but at the same time tho this film isn't as fun as it really could have been and lacks the fun that all of the James Bond films really had in spades in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all pf the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , Wikipedia , the official James Bond fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personal favorite website to use to get the images that I used in this very review being the official James Bond fandom wiki page just simply due to the fact that pretty much all of the images that are featured / presented to us and are currently up and also on the official James Bond fandom wiki page are all fairly high quality and as well as being fairly high definition and well then boys and girls just freaking like James Bond I will return.