Movie review - 'Casino Royale' wins the bet
"Casino Royale" takes a huge gamble that moviegoers
are ready for a fresh take on James Bond. And it wins the
bet.
Featuring both a new 007 and new sensibility, the movie
neatly blends a character-driven narrative with adventure-centered
action. It suffers from the multiple-ending malady that
afflicts Hollywood these days -- and the last ending, which
goes on for a good 20 minutes. But on the whole, it breathes
new energy into a franchise that was slipping into a rut.
Daniel Craig takes over as the debonair super-spy. Like
his predecessors, this Bond isn't one to back away from
a fight, but it's clear that he'd rather outsmart his foes
with good old-fashioned wits than blow them to smithereens
with some over-the-top (and entirely unbelievable) gadget.
Directed by Martin Campbell (of "GoldenEye,"
the 1995 installment that introduced Pierce Brosnan's Bond),
the movie is based on the first Bond book by author Ian
Fleming, which was published in 1953. (Other than springing
from the same source, it has no connection with the 1967
version of "Casino Royale," a comedy that starred
Peter Sellers.)
The story, set in the present day, involves a banker who
caters to terrorist organizations. Bond's assignment is
to bankrupt him, then offer protection from his angry clients
in exchange for information about the various terrorist
groups.
The banker, known by the code name Le Chiffre (Danish actor
Mads Mikkelsen), is a poker player who has entered a game
of Texas Hold 'Em with a buy-in of $10 million. Bond turns
up at the table opposite him.
Campbell overindulges in the poker action, although given
the game's newfound popularity, it's an understandable ploy.
Still, poker faces are by definition completely devoid of
emotion, so a guy staring blankly into space doesn't generate
a lot of dramatic tension.
Craig ("Infamous") provides the most-human 007
since the early Sean Connery. Sure, he's still James Bond,
who always has one more trick up his sleeve. But he never
crosses into the quasi-superhero status that marked the
recent Bond movies.
He also brings much more depth to the character. This version
of Bond has a chip on his shoulder, surfacing as arrogance
with an undercurrent of anger. He struggles with professional
detachment: Let's face it, it's hard not to take it personally
when someone's shooting at you.
And he does something no Bond has ever done before: wheedle.
The money for his poker buy-in comes from the government,
which sends along an auditor (Eva Green, "Kingdom of
Heaven") to keep an eye on it. Bond blows his first
allotment on a bad bet, and in an ironic twist on the 007's
seductive mystique, has to grovel to get more.
Speaking of wanting more, Craig is a sure bet to do that
for viewers. |
