Review of Casino Royale (2006) by Andrewp — 04 Jul 2009

A James Bond film is a classy spy movie with a lot of action and story, but not too much of either to make it unbalanced. Casino Royale is a poker movie. Think about it. It starts with some talking, then there's a (very cool) action scene, then.

..poker. And more poker. And even more poker. Then there's that scene when bond gets poisoned and nearly dies, and then more poker. The over involved plot doesn't have to do with bond taking out the bad guy as normal, instead he has to make him bankrupt in a, no joke here, game of high stakes poker.

I think what really does it for me is seeing bond striped naked, tied to a chair, and whipped repeatedly in the area a man does not want to be whipped in. And he doesn't use his whits or cunning to escape, but instead he has to be rescued.

Its just insulting. Also, no Q means no cool gadgets. Bond, the franchise that first had the idea of equipping spys with ultra high tech gadgets, suddenly has no gadgets. Personally, when I think bond, two of the first things that come to mind are the laser watch and the Aston with missiles under the head lights and now both of these icons are gone.

Its just sad. This movie left me with a hollow, empty feeling that made me go back and watch one of the twenty superior bond films. No charm. No heart. No soul. 0 out of 10.