Casino Royale (2006)
With all the recent hype surrounding Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman, I point some critics of that decision to the fan derision that met Daniel Craig when the blonde, mostly unknown British actor was cast as 007. Disdain directed at Craig and the poor response to Die Another Day ensured that not many were thrilled to watch another James Bond film in 2006 – in fact, the film couldn’t even pull off winning the box office on its opening weekend. Nevertheless, it won the hearts of many 007 fans in the end and is considered one of the top films in the Bond pantheon, if not the top.
The producers of Casino Royale wisely rebooted the series with Ian Fleming’s apprentice novel: what better way to bring a fresh new approach to the character than starting from the rough beginning? However, it also meant that screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis had to find a way to expand on the protagonist, since Fleming’s slim novel is more concerned with the espionage plot than the character. Fleming is still trying to flesh out and realize who Bond is by the end.
But Martin Campbell’s film is most spellbinding in the moments where it expands from the source material – in creating a deeper relationship between Bond and Vesper Lynd, and of course, the film’s go-for-broke action sequences. The nimble and ambitious free running chase sequence near the start is one of the most impressive set pieces in action film history.
But, in the end, it is Craig’s performance – commanding and vulnerable – that brings a greater impression of who Bond is in his first go-around than the novelist depicted.