Casino Royale

Year: 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench

I never really was a James Bond fan. I find it quite ridiculous that a super spy who is as good with the ladies as he is with guns never seems to die or fall into serious danger. And after so many films being made, the concept never seems to change. High tech cars, high tech gadgets, sexy women, bombastic villains, cheesy opening credit sequence accompanied by an equally cheesy theme song, the 3 word name introduction and of course, he always gets the girl in the end. Same old same old.

So what's different about this one? A lot actually. Different actor, for starters. We have a blond actor named Daniel Craig to play 007. We don't have fancy gadgets or a car with custom made gadgets and weapons (though his car in this film is cool nonetheless). Oh, and apparently this time Bond doesn't care how he wants his martini.

Anyway, in Casino Royale, we go back to square one, so to speak. This was the time when Bond first receives his 00 status i.e. the licence to kill. His superior, M hands it to him with great reluctance as he is reckless and egoistic. But he earned it, and with it a great responsiblity as he tackles his next mission: playing poker. Bond is up against Le Chiffre, a banker who finances terrorists. MI6 needs Bond to play against him and win, to bankrupt Le Chiffre thus shutting down his operation.

MI6 assigns Vesper Lynd, an accountant to monitor and watch over the money Bond will be using in the high stakes poker game. Being a pretty girl, Bond falls for her of course. His relationship with her surprisingly is the key element to this story, and not the mission he initially undertakes, as you will see towards the end.

Martin Campbell, who directed Goldeneye, Pierce Brosnan's first Bond film, does a great job here with the pacing and characters. The action sequences are also well done. Watch out for the chase sequence between Bond and a bomber through a construction site that is truly breathtaking. As for acting, Craig does fine, but he uses the same expression for about 80% of the film. Which is fine when he wants to play hero, but not when he needs to emote. Personally I loved his interaction with Judi Dench, their dialogue will be remembered as classic moments.

Eva Green is magnetic both emotionally and physically as Vesper Lynd, while Mads Mikkelsen looks mean enough as the villain. As for the theme song, it's not half bad. Performed by Audioslave's lead singer Chris Cornell, it accompanies yet another cheesy opening sequence. But I guess I can overlook that one this time.

A good way to spend 2 hours and some money for a cinema ticket, unless action isn't your cup of tea. (4/5)