Like other movie franchises that underwent radical revivals, such as Batman Begins, Casino Royale unpackages a very different 007 from the ones we knew before. Well, actually, I don't know all the Bonds so I'm only comparing against Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton, the most recent actors to play the part. Daniel Craig's Bond is more instinctively confident, athletic and testosterone-charged, and doesn't rely on gimmicks at all. The opening action sequence had me wowed and drawing comparisons with Ong Bak, although it was more the credit of the 'villain' than Bond.While I appreciate the storyline not being yet another ludicruous it's-up-to-Bond-to-save-the-world caper, the lack of a strongly discernible plot villain with some evil scheme to foil is rather difficult to get used to. After what I took to be the major bad boss Le Chiffre died, I wondered how the story would continue. Would it become a romance? It would have been hard to get interested if not for the allure of the enigmatic Eva Green in the role of Vesper Lynd.
Probably the best parts of the movie were the scenes of the repartee between Bond and Lynd. I have never had much to appreciate in the dialogue of previous 007 movies I've caught, and this was the first that held conversations that intrigued and delighted me. While all these little diversions from what is expected of the Bond franchise were refreshing, on the whole the movie still failed to shine in spectacularly memorable fashion that would have earned it four stars from me. I would watch it again though, and if this is a sign of what we can expect from future Bond movies, 007 may survive to the next generation.
Eva Green, Daniel Craig and Catarina Murino.
Vesper Lynd and James Bond frolicking in the Madagascan sea.
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