Casino Royale

James Bond is Bourne again in the latest installment in the longest running film franchise in history. Taking a nod from Matt Damon's Jason Bourne movies, Casino Royale focuses on characterization and a semblance of realism in its portrayal of a super spy. Many of the reviews of Royale have buzz words like "gritty" and "tough", the movie not only lives up to the early buzz but surpasses it. Casino Royale goes in the opposite direction of the Brosnan Bond films and benefits from the change. That's not a slam on Brosnan, he's still my favorite James Bond.

When Daniel Craig was selected to succeed Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, the world (myself included) did a collective head scratch. Craig was physically fit, but he was not a commercially known actor and had the face of a fifty year old. This plus the announcement by producers of going in a different artistic direction left a big question over the future of the franchise.

After all, serious James Bond films are historically the least popular in the series. The last Bond film to take itself seriously, 1989's license To Kill, was a commercial disaster that almost ended the film series. Also, Brosnan had repeatedly proven himself as an actor and star to the point he's was nicknamed the "Billion Dollar Bond". The previous actors in the role had all made a mark on the character's well, Sean Connery (original Bond), George Lazenby (lame Bond), Roger Moore (funny Bond) and Timothy Dalton (boring Bond) each had played the role. Even with the announced intention of making a serious film, Craig was an unknown quantity. What kind of Bond would he be?

Casino Royale takes 2 1/2 hours to answer that question, but the answer arrives with a resounding triumph. Daniel Craig is bloke Bond. He's less suave or stylish but enjoys the finer things and has a desire to prove himself. He's the Bond an audience can relate to as a person which draws them behind him in a way that I've never seen. In a scene where Bond resists excrutiating physical torture with humor, the audience roared in support. As an audience, we learn about Bond's conscience with murder and struggle as a government assassin. We learn about his background (he's an orphan) and what drives him to be a government agent. For the first time in years, Bond fails at missions and important events and doesn't laugh it off. This Bond is more of an everyman, capable of great things but also flawed as an agent and person.

Craig's performance is so strong it carries Casino Royale to the next level. The storyline is refreshingly small scale and direct: Bond is assigned to beat a high stakes gambler named Le Chiffe who launders and invests terrorist funds. To do so, much time is spent with Bond at the card table against Le Chiffe as a government handler (ably played by Eva Green) named Vesper Lynd ensures Bond doesn't exceed his spending limit. Green and Craig have an effective amount of chemistry to their relationship and their characters interact as people more than the predictable archetypes the series is known for.

The tone of the film matches the Ian Fleming books to a T. James Bond is confident but has occasional doubt, is intelligent but does not know everything and has concern over how killing effects his soul. The deaths in Royale are more brutal and graphic than any previous film (including Dr No, in which Sean Connery's Bond shoots an unarmed man and slits a guards throat with a knife). The gadgetry is kept to a minimum and the movie allows Bond to express a full range of emotion.

Not that all of the previous Bond movie traits are eliminated. Some of the action set pieces, such as a huge fight between Bond and a terrorist in a tanker truck at an airport is so large scale it felt like a different movie. The scene was highly remiscent of the Die Hard films and Raiders of the Lost Ark and didn't quite match the rest of the movie for me. Another action set piece at the end of film was also a bit overblown compared to the sleek simplicity of the rest of the film.

The movie came in second at the box office this weekend, being beat out by the penguin movie Happy Feet. That's unfortunate in that the opening may discourage the filmmakers from making serious Bond films in the future. Hopefully that won't happen, as Daniel Craig has proven himself to be an outstanding James Bond. Casino Royale is one of the best films in the entire franchise and entertains as a stand alone movie as well. My score for Casino Royale, 9 out of 10. Almost perfect.