That kind of clever character insight is present throughout all of Casino Royale.

The moment when he chooses to avoid a complicated parkour movement by simply charging straight through the door his target dodged perfectly establishes the rough, straight-to-the-point brutality that would define much of Craig’s run as the character. That’s especially true of the thrillingly well-constructed opening parkour chase, which is punctuated by so many memorable character beats that it tells viewers everything they need to know about Craig’s Bond.

Campbell never draws too much attention to his visual style, allowing Casino Royale’s action sequences to shine solely on their own merits.

Behind the camera, Campbell brings the kind of reliable, rugged craftsmanship that’s become increasingly hard to find in Hollywood’s contemporary blockbuster scene. Sony PicturesĪfter helming Pierce Brosnan’s best Bond film (1995’s GoldenEye), Martin Campbell managed to one-up himself a decade later. The same can be said for many of Casino Royale’s best moments whether we’re witnessing Le Chiffre’s inventive cruelty or the connection that Vesper and Bond share, Casino Royale is brimming with an extra level of tension and invention.Ĭasino Royale kicked off one of the Bond franchise’s best eras. Le Chiffre and Bond’s final scene together, in which the villain uses a knotted piece of rope to torture the hero, ranks as one of the most uncomfortable, viscerally affecting scenes in the franchise. While the film’s central villain, Le Chiffre, isn’t quite as imposing as more memorable Bond antagonists, Mads Mikkelsen manages to bring a lot of sinister charm to the character. Together, Green and Craig have better chemistry than any other Bond pairing in history, which makes Vesper’s eventual fate (and Bond’s reaction to it) hit that much harder.

The film’s grainy, black-and-white opening minutes depict the two encounters that resulted in Bond earning his “00” status, while the main, poker-centric plotline gives Craig the chance to slip into the dignified, charming persona that has become an integral part of the Bond character.Ĭasino Royale also brings Craig’s Bond face-to-face with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the clever and passionate woman destined to haunt all his future romantic pursuits. Based on Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale reveals the origins of Daniel Craig’s complicated British spy.

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