Casino Royale (2006): In his first mission, James Bond must stop Le Chiffre, a banker to the world’s terrorist organizations, from winning a high-stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro.
This new James Bond is very different from the last few in the series. There is much more emphasis on the plot and characterization than the action. There is plenty of action, some of them very well done. But the majority of scenes that I remember are more about characterization and plot.
Daniel Craig is a good Bond, without a doubt. He has that rugged feel to him, which is perfect for depicting his early years as 007. I liked that in this film he is more vulnerable, less infallible. It makes him more human and more relatable.
The women were gorgeous as ever, and Eva Green was certainly a good Bond girl. I am not sure her actions at the end were justified, I can think of better ways to solve their problems instead of what happened.
The villain in this movie was… less villainy. He looked like a Bond villain, but he wasn’t the all powerful adversary of previous movies. He is just a fish in the ocean, that can be eaten by bigger fish. This makes him less of a threat in my mind, and his demise was too quick.
Overall this is a fresh reboot of this franchise, and even though it wasn’t perfect, it promises better stories in the future.
Rating: 3 Stars