Director: Martin Campbell
Writer(s): Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis, Ian Fleming (based on book by)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench
‘A back to basics Bond film, with an almost back to basics plot’
With the news that Daniel Craig is returning to the role of James Bond for one last film, we at CNS Towers decided to look back at Craig’s time as 007. With four films under his belt so far, what will the (possibly) final Daniel Craig starring Bond film look like? Will it continue the stripped back, no-nonsense 007 of ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’? Or will it carry on reintroducing the fantastical gadgets and vehicles the Bond franchise has become famous for?
Sadly, we will have to wait until November 2019 to answer these questions, but until then hopefully we can wet your Bond appetite with our look back at Craig’s tenure as our favourite super spy, starting waaay back in 2006 with Casino Royale…
A back to basics Bond film, with an almost back to basics plot. Casino Royale is an adaption of Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name, but places it firmly in the 21st Century. It is a very faithful adaption of the book, surprisingly including some of its darker elements (The torture scene still makes my eyes water! But more on that later). It still has the beautiful locations, spectacular action set pieces and globe-trotting adventure expected of a Bond movie, but leaves out the more far-fetched aspects of the franchise (invisible cars ‘We call it The Vanish‘ and exploding pens ‘Three clicks arms the device‘) replacing them with a defibrillator. This is a Bond movie that is anchored in reality, allowing limited teases of fantasy throughout, and more focused on the characters than ever before.
That’s not to say it doesn’t keep some aspects of Bond Tradition. We still have Judi Dench’s M and the almost obligatory Aston Martin product placement, but due to the lack of gadgets, Q and Money Penny are saved for a later date (see Skyfall). This is as close to a complete reboot of the Bond franchise we have ever been given.
Casino Royale acts as if the other 20 James Bond films don’t exist. We are right back at the beginning here, even being treated to how Bond earns his ‘00’ status, in a beautifully shot opening pre-credits scene. It swaps out the grand stand opening the Bond films have stuck with since ‘From Russia With Love’ (1963) for an understated contrast, a quiet conversation interspersed with a brutal bathroom brawl, which introduces us to a new kind of Bond.
Daniel Craig is a brilliant casting choice. When he was first cast as James Bond, way back in 2005, there was public uproar at the announcement. Fans started internet campaigns against it, and threatened to boycott all of his future Bond films on the basis that he was:
- Too Short
- Too Blonde
- Too Ugly
Since then he has become a firm favourite for many Bond fans, delivering both the action and drama of James Bond that had not been seen before. He has managed more in one film than other iterations have done with multiple reprisings of the role. Craig’s Bond is still inventing himself throughout this film. He lacks some of the sophistication the character has become famous for. He is still quick to violence, and throughout the film becomes lost in love then finally he is out for revenge.
Craig is also the first James Bond that actually looks like he could kill someone with his bare hands. He has a physical brutality his previous counterparts weren’t capable of. One of the best examples is the Parkour chase in Madagascar. The contrast between Sebastien Foucan’s free runner, who is gracefully leaping across the building site, and Craig’s Bond, who is like a one man wrecking ball, bulldozing his way through walls, really shows off the brutality of Craig’s Bond.
Throughout the movie there are hints of the classic Bond, but again, it forgoes the some of the classic tropes of a Bond movie. When asked how he would like his drink, Bond replies with ‘Do I look like I give a damn?’ rather than the famous ‘Shaken not stirred’. We are given a Bond who is still unformed and less refined. The movie even keeps the classic line, ‘The names Bond, James Bond’, and theme until the end, when we finally start to see the true Bond starting to form.
Casino Royale is not only has an amazing Bond, but also a brilliant supporting cast. Craig is surrounded by Jeffery Wright’s Felix Leiter, Judi Dench’s M, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd and facing off against Le Chiffre played by Mikkelsen, each bringing something to the film and allowing different aspects of Bond to come to light. Casino Royale is not just your run of the mill action thriller; it is more of a love story than anything else. It just happens to star James Bond and the poker game adds to the magnificence of it all.
Vesper Lynd is the best Bond girl of Craig’s tenure as Bond, and quite possibly of them all (bar Judi Dench’s M). There definitely hasn’t been one like her since. Whereas previous Bond girls were beautiful women wrapped in an innuendo (Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead and Octopussy), Eva Green shines in this role, making it her own, giving Lynd real depth and giving an explanation as to why Bond is the way he is with women.
The middle sequence, and main focus of the story, is quite possibly the best Bond movie ever made. From Train to Torture, is perfectly crafted and gives us some of the best ‘Bond’ moments of the franchise. When Bond first tries on his tuxedo, we really start to get the feeling that the ‘classic’ Bond is coming, slowly but masterfully being crafted in front of our eyes.
The choice to focus a plot around a single Texas Hold ‘Em Poker game could have gone horribly wrong, but really pays off (This replaces the now less popular Baccarat from the novel). Personally, I don’t have enough prior knowledge of the game to properly understand what is happening but that isn’t what is important here. This is a battle of wills between the hero and the villain. Two men going head to head, giving it everything; one (Bond) with nothing to lose and the other (Le Chiffre) who has everything to lose resulting in a desperate physiological struggle between the two, providing an appetising contrast of the action at the beginning and end of the movie.
Le Chiffre is easily the best villain of Craig’s tenure as Bond, played perfectly by Mads Mikkelsen, and is the subject of my main gripe about this film. He is killed off to early, but again that can’t be helped as a result of following the narrative of the novel. His motives also follow the back to basics rule that the rest of the film follows, here we are given a villain who is not trying to take over the world. Le Chiffre is playing for his life, desperately trying to survive and win his employer’s money back after losing it due to Bond’s intervention.
During the game of poker, and when Bond starts to get the upper hand, we are treated to another great Bond moment. Bond is poisoned by Le Chiffre, and the stark whiteness of the bathroom Bond finds himself in whilst trying to counteract the symptoms in very trippy. Leading onto the urgency of Bond trying to defibrillate himself is jarring. He may not survive this and there is no ‘get out of jail free’ gadget here to save him. That is until Vesper arrives to plug the defibrillator in at the last minute, allowing the audience t see her slowly coming around to Bond, perhaps ‘forgetting’ her mission to let our hero die.
As I have said earlier, the Bond we are presented with here is still unformed, and in some ways naïve. This is showcased perfectly in his suicide mission, after losing his place at the poker game. He has nothing to lose so decides to take matters into his own hands, grabbing a knife. Something we’ve not seen before in previous incarnations of James Bond, they always find a way to save the day and beat the villain, often with a charming quip along the way.
And the last great moment of the film, and definitely the most shocking (possibly one of the best in the series). Le Chiffre’s torturing of Bond is one of the most eye-watering pieces of cinema I have ever seen, and perfectly played by Craig and Mikkelson. This is the hero and the villain stripped bare (literally in Bond’s case) with nothing left to lose. This is James Bond at his most heroic. He doesn’t’ falter, even when faced with a slow and painful death he doesn’t give in and instead laughs in the face of danger, shouting ‘Now the whole world’s gonna know you died scratching my balls’.
Verdict: Casino Royale is an instant classic and an almost perfect Bond movie. It’s a great introduction for Daniel Craig who will no doubt now be many fans’ favourite Bond, proving the naysayers wrong, giving us a fresh take on a faltering franchise.
9/10
– C.
CNSMovies 