Review of Casino Royale (1954) by Wesley W — 03 Dec 2015

Watching this film again, there is absolutely nothing I don't like about it and it is my favorite bond film right next to Skyfall. Casino Royale did for James Bond what Batman Begins did for Batman.

Take a character we really love and make a deep, thought provoking, character driven, and gritty reinvention of it. After the dud that was Die Another Day, Bond comes back better than ever to show people that he is a real human being and not just some spy out to save the world from some maniacal genius.

Daniel Craig was literally a perfect casting choice for the role of James Bond. He shows perfectly that he is a badass, can please the ladies, some more wide range of emotions, and have a little sense of humor too.

I like to go back and forth to myself on who is the better James Bond, Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, or Sean Connery The villain here is a realistic one and one of the most captivating of the entire series.

Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre played such a great menacing foe for James Bond and far better than some of the previous Bond villains. He is not a villain out to rule the world but to try to win money for people that he owes and are more dangerous than he is because his life is on the line and it is more intriguing to watch than some british idiot trying to use a giant laser to destroy army bases like on Die Another Day.

One of the most highly praised aspects of this film are the action scenes. They are truly mind blowing. They are all tense, realistic, fast-paced, and most of all exciting as hell. The action here is practical and all brilliant stunt work.

The foot chase in Madagascar, the truck chase in the airport, the stairwell fight at Casino Royale, and the action sequence towards the finale. They all stand out so well and all those action scenes I can watch over a thousand times and still be wowed every time.

Beside the action, the story and characters are just as great here. The story is actually interesting here and you feel that the stakes are really high as the film goes on. The team of writers come up with such amazing dialogue for these characters to say and not once does the dialogue ever fall flat.

James Bond has to stop Le Chiffre from winning a high stakes poker game to help the funding of terrorism stop and he has the help of Vesper Lynd played by Eva Green. Vesper Lynd is one of the best bond girls of all time right next to Natalia from Goldeneye.

Not only was she sexy, she was also an interesting character to watch, wasn't just some throwaway sex object to look at, and her chemistry with James Bond was dynamic to watch giving out the most versatile relationship I have ever seen in a James Bond movie.

They even shared a really tender moment together that I even shed a tear on and that has never ever happened to me when watching a 007 film. Martin Campbell shows us when he is behind a bond film, it is engaging as ever and he knows exactly how to thrill and wow movie fans around the world.

He successfully launches the bond careers of Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig and he brings the character right into the 21st century and makes the James Bond franchise more intriguing than ever. Overall, needless to say I love every single thing about this film and it is now my current favorite James Bond film right next to Skyfall, highly deserving of my highest rating that I can give on this website.