Casino Royale

The world renown British secret agent, James Bond has gone through numerous interpretations throughout his 45 years on the big screen. With each interpretation comes a new actor or director, bringing his own unique presence and vision to the role. While some are more memorable than others, the newest actor to slip on the famous tuxedo hits the ground running and immediately brings the character to new life.

Ushering in a new era to one of the longest running film franchises in cinema history, Daniel Craig is the sixth actor to portray James Bond. Craig joins a short, but distinguished list of elite actors as he takes the reigns in the 21st official James Bond film, “Casino Royale.” Within mere seconds of his initial presence in screen, it is obvious that Bond is back, but this interpretation is very different. While there is no utterance of a link to previous versions of the character, audiences get to witness a portrayal of James Bond that closely matches the original literary source material rather than something that resembles a comic book character.

“Casino Royale” is the literary adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first novel to introduce James Bond. Written in 1953, this story features a character who is neither super-human, nor is he a flamboyant hero decorated with outrageous gadgets upon endless disposal. Bond is a human; a person like any one else with tragic flaws. The only difference is Bond makes a living by killing people. Luckily, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson saw unmarked territory and couldn’t have chosen a better time to explore it.

Currently, we live in a period of cinema where a deadly character like Jason Bourne (The Bourne Identity), Jack Bauer (24), or even Batman gives audiences the gripping rage needed for a dramatic action hero. At the same time, it’s the struggles they experience in their personal lives that makes each one of those characters much more intriguing. Much to the tune of “Batman Begins,” the James Bond franchise injects itself with much needed realism and character driven storytelling. Therein lies all reason to cast an actor like Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond. Although he was seen recently in Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” Craig is nearly an unknown to the international movie-going audience. With lead credits on films like the exhilarating crime thriller “Layer Cake,” or a dramatic turn in “Enduring Love,” Craig has brought considerable acclaim to his electrifying performances. He’s a one-of-a-kind actor with exquisite skills and a daunting presence that can give James Bond an edge over all other imitators.

“Casino Royale” begins by telling the story of how James earns his license to kill. After a ruthless re-introduction during an engaging black and white sequence, Bond’s first mission takes him to the dangerous jungles of Madagascar. In what is typically a staple among every James Bond film, a chase sequence takes place between Bond and an extremely fast free-runner (Sebastien Foucan) who uses walls, trees, or any other random objects to glide swiftly out of harm’s way. While nearly all of the previous Bond chase sequences feature high-speed vehicles, this exhilarating footrace sequence has to be seen to be believed. It’s the perfect scene to introduce a more physical portrayal of James Bond, and ranks among all chase sequences as one of the most astonishing we have ever seen.

Events quickly settle down when Bond is led to a private banker named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). The British government believes he is the man responsible for providing funds to terrorist cells across the globe. To investigate Le Chiffre, Bond is paired with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green); an agent with the treasury who is assisting Bond on his highly staked mission. With her eloquent presence, Bond’s interest is sparked, and the on-screen chemistry between Craig and Green sizzles.

While many aspects of the franchise have changed, fans of the previous films won’t go unfed. “Casino Royale” maintains classic characters like Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright), and even features the beautiful new Aston Martin DBS. We also learn the origin behind some of the most famous items in James Bond lore, specifically, the Vodka Martini. While Bond isn’t seen playing baccarat in this film, he still frequents the titular casino in Montenegro, where a high stakes poker game takes place during the second act. It’s a scene that has Craig resembling the late Steve McQueen, whom he eerily has a physical likeness to. This resemblance is even more uncanny during an action sequence on the Miami airport runway, which is reminiscent of McQueen’s final scenes in “Bullitt.”

With all the success surrounding “Casino Royale,” many people will inevitably be debating whether or not Daniel Craig lives up to the legacy of James Bond’s first film actor, Sean Connery. The only thing separating Craig from Connery is the fact that Connery invented the character for the screen nearly 45 years ago. Every actor who follows him is inevitably doing so in his footsteps. However, this simply does not change the fact that Daniel Craig bows a more engaging and realistic look at the James Bond character from Ian Fleming’s classic novels. This is the best James Bond performance to date, and the way he was intended to be seen. This is Craig, Daniel Craig.

Casino Royale

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity

Runtime: 144 min.

Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffery Wright, and Judi Dench

Directed by Martin Campbell