Review of Casino Royale (2006) by Jack W — 06 Dec 2014

Easily the best Bond film of the postmodern period. They intended to jump start the franchise, frankly one that had become a joke and they nailed it. The story is a little bloated at times, in particular the extensive focus on the poker.

I almost feel as though they decided that in order to ensure they would draw a younger audience they included so much of the poker to capitalize on what was extremely popular at the time of the films release.

The choice of Craig as Bond completely worked and I really appreciate the nods to both the earlier films and to the novels. There is a real connection to the novels, something really missing since Connery left the helm.

The film is opulent and beautiful and ironically released at the right time. I'm not sure such an opulent film would go over as well in our current economic climate. Easily a top three Bond film for me, right behind Goldfinger and Thunderball.