Movie Review: Casino Royale

Filled with trepidation, the audience entered the packed screening room to see the new 21st century James Bond. Capturing this larger-than-life character on film after the quintessential Bond, Sean Connery, aged out of his gig in 1971 was close to impossible for the owners of the Bond franchise, the Broccoli family company Danjaq, LLC.  Pierce Brosnan gave it his best shot, and got better as his tenure went on; Roger Moore  sleepwalked his campy and faux-sophisticated way through his Bond, ending his last few years wearing a man girdle. George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton are better left forgotten.

But good news - Casino Royale could have easily been called Bond Begins. It is essentially a re-imagining of a beloved character and closely resembles the re-imagining of the Super Hero journey in Christopher Nolan's excellent Batman Begins, with a similarly new dark and more intense character in the casting of Christian Bale in the title role. Bond is recreated here in the same image of a deep and dark intense man-of-the-people hero.

Hiring Daniel Craig to play the newest Bond had legions of fans and critics up in arms. Some threatened boycotts of the film, blogs were written in and websites were set up in protest - even this reviewer was mighty concerned. Everyone rushed to worry before all the facts were in. Now the new Bond film is out and now the new James Bond should be crowned! This reviewer is thrilled to report that Daniel Craig IS Bond!

Craig's Bond drips charisma; he is grittier, sexier, deeper, tougher, more intense, more thoughtful, more human, more physically fit, less needy of special cars and gadgets, and just about the most perfect Bond since Sean Connery. Craig's work in this outing could be hailed as one of the best acting jobs of this season, especially after seeing his standout performance as serial killer Perry Smith in Infamous.

Only a true actor can take a role so closely defined by one man, Connery, and make it his own. Craig has done this in spades. His body is a blinding allure that women will be dreaming about, and his icy blue-eyed stare hints at the cold, haunted depth of a real man. Craig's Bond takes us back to the true roots of Bond as writer Ian Fleming imagined him, with a grittier update for our 21st century world.

Casino Royale was first filmed back in 1967 as a spy spoof with David Niven and Peter Sellers as Bond. It was loosely based on Fleming's first Bond novel of the same name, published in 1953. After Sean Connery's defining performance as Bond, no actor who played Bond even came close. The Bond films always had a big audience due to the popularity of the Fleming books, the Bond character, and the great SpFx and stunt set pieces, but no actor who played this role even came close to the intensity of Connery until now.

Article Author: Janet Planet

Janet Planet is an opinionated writer, editor, & blogger. She lives and works in Hollywood and has been blogging movie & music reviews and political OpEd pieces. This digital dog is a creative thinker, writer, and educator with a thoughtful, playful …

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