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Shaken and stirred — that’s how the 21st installment in
the James Bond franchise, Casino Royale, leaves you. Taking a page from Batman Begins, director Martin
Campbell and writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade take on the unenviable
task of making everything that’s old about the world’s most
famous superspy new again — and succeed handsomely.
With Royale, we journey back to an updated version of Fleming’s
1953 novel, the only one that had not yet been filmed in a serious manner.
Bond (Daniel Craig) is sent on his first mission: to bring down Le Chiffre
(Mads Mikkelsen), a backer of the world’s most dangerous terrorist
organization. To do this, he sets out to empty Le Chiffre’s vast
coffers at a high-stakes poker tournament at the Casino Royale in
Montenegro. What appears to be a simple mission becomes quite complicated
when Le Chiffre uncovers Bond’s role and sends his cronies to kill
the agent, who is forced to deal with an unexpected ally, Vesper Lynd (Eva
Green), sent to watch over the government funds that Bond is wagering.
Casino Royale is a
character-driven film, and much time is spent on showing us what makes Bond
tick and planting the seeds for what we know will happen to the character
in the future. Obviously these scenes — such as witnessing Bond get
behind the wheel of an Aston Martin for the first time and his response
when asked whether he wants his martini shaken or stirred — will be
great fun for fans of the franchise. Although Campbell is in charge of
tweaking the spy-movie formula, the weight of the picture is on
Craig’s shoulders, and the actor does a remarkable job, displaying a
combination of crudity, naïveté, and growing confidence
that’s wholly convincing. The supporting cast is also top-notch.
Craig’s turn won’t make anyone forget
about Sean Connery, and Casino Royale is not the best of the Bond films (Goldfinger still holds that
honor), but it is as daring as anything you might expect from a franchise
that’s more than 40 years old.
This article appears in Nov 16-22, 2006.
