Issue 149

Casino Royale

20th November 2006

Purely and simply, this is a whole new Bond. Rumours have long been circulating that this movie is attempting to make dramatic changes to the character, and although "reinvent" might be too strong a word, it's certainly not remiss to say that this movie is a whole new animal.

Daniel Craig (Layer Cake) has undergone much scrutiny regarding his casting, with doubts being raised that his acting skills can live up to the role (and the fact that he's blonde has had the most conservative of die-hard fans baying for blood). But be assured, his performance here does not disappoint. Craig is perfect for the role of this new, tougher Bond. He lacks the cheese of some of the previous Bonds, yet retains the style and class that we've come to expect from the one and only 007. What's best is that he manages to bring a refreshing sense of realism to the role, something that has been sorely lacking in the more recent instalments. He has flaws, and he makes mistakes, which makes his character, and the movie as a whole, that much more believable, and importantly, more of a film, and not merely an explosion ridden spectacle.

Being that this film is going right back to the origins of the character (based, as it is, on the very first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming), to when he first became a double 0 agent, Craig manages to play the character perfectly as a younger, somewhat less experienced Bond, who has yet to gain the infallibly suave and sophisticated nature , and who is still a bit rough around the edges. Perhaps the most important aspect of Casino Royale is the insight it gives as to how Bond becomes the ruthless, professional, and chauvinistic assassin we all know.

The plot, despite taking a welcome back seat to character development, manages to hold much more weight than the more convoluted attempts seen in the past. The story revolves around a high-stakes poker game at a casino named (yep, you guessed it) Casino Royale. Bond must beat a member of a terrorist organisation, in order to bankrupt him, so that MI6 can bring him in to get any information he knows. A substantial amount of the movie focuses on the poker game itself, and that they manage to sustain dramatic tension throughout, without anything particularly spectacular happening during this middle section of the movie, is impressive, and a triumph on the part of the writers. However, one downside to this is that the casual movie-goer who expects lots of big explosions and hour-long chase scenes - as well as children, seeing as this is a 12a rated movie - may find the action at times a little too deliberate and slow-burning.

That's not to say there aren't any action scenes. Oh no, there are action scenes. Some of the most well choreographed stunt scenes in any Bond movie to date. One of the first fights, for example, which takes place on top of a several hundred foot tall crane, is truly spectacular to watch. The way it is filmed generates an unsettlingly real sense of vertigo for the audience, and creates a believable and quite unnerving atmosphere of danger and fear for the characters that you don't often get in big action scenes. The fact that there is often so little action at some points in the film, makes the times when there are that much more exhilarating. It feels as if they've been earned, rather than just thrown in gratuitously to stretch it out. Every fight, every chase, and every explosion fits perfectly into the story, each acting as one more right of passage in Bond's development. Even more impressive is that every single one seems unique and original, a near impossible feat amidst today's abundance of action blockbusters, saturated as they are with gun shots, fist fights and explosions. Every stunt is well thought out and executed with style, and none of the scenes drag to the point that you start to get bored. But like everything, the fight scenes have also been given a bigger touch of realism this time. Bond takes a real beating frequently throughout the film, not least in the wincingly painful torture scene, and the fights are just that - fights. They're raw, bloody, and invariably brutal. More than once, Bond genuinely struggles for his life.

One thing that fans of the series may notice is lacking this time, however, is the grand, larger than life villain that seems to be present in most 007 narratives. There is no huge scheme for world domination here, and no over the top evil mastermind trying to carry it out. In fact, it's quite hard to pinpoint the true, main villain in this film. The character that comes closest to filling this role is undoubtedly Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), Bond's opponent in the poker game, with his one blue eye which occasionally weeps blood, a quality which serves no other purpose in the film than to increase his sinister air. However, even he is simply a man wanting to make a lot of money through illegal means. He, as it transpires, is not even the alpha bad guy, as he answers to another group of terrorists who often seem much more menacing than him, and who instil a genuine sense of fear into Le Chiffre. Once again, this change benefits the film considerably by creating a heightened sense of realism, in that everyone is simply in it for the money, and even the villain can be identified with, as he displays weaknesses and spends a majority of the film watching his back and avoiding his employers.

Another stereotypical role in the Bond films also undergoes a bit of facelift in this latest entry. The always attractive, often humorously-named "Bond girl" takes a step away from the cliché. There is only one real love interest for Bond this time, and although she certainly fits the bill in the looks department, she's not quite as shallow and one-dimensional as the majority of Bond girls from the past. The writers of Bond have finally created a real character out of a Bond girl, a character whose actions and relationship with Bond provides an integral part of the film, but even more so in the development of Bond's deliciously three-dimensional psyche.

Overall this is a top notch movie. It's certainly extremely well made, and sets up the new and improved Bond franchise perfectly. It may upset a lot of die-hard fans who don't take to the severe shift in character and tone, and anyone expecting a rehash of Die Another Day; a simple, one dimensional, fast-paced action movie may be disappointed. That said, for Bond fans wanting to see a development in the franchise, and a return to the quality of Bond films before CGI and excessive product placement, this is the best Bond movie in a long time. Thoroughly recommended.

Matt Ray