James Bond movies have long been forgiven a multitude of sins, and the latest one is no exception. Crass product placement, implausible dialog, plot points that drag on and strain logic, Casino Royale has got them all. The reason none of that really matters is Daniel Craig.
Sean Connery proved the formula five decades ago: a strong Bond is everything. Daniel Craig, blond with piercing blue eyes, brings the requisite style and charisma to the world's most famous movie spy. But unlike any previous 007, Craig is also palpably rough around the edges. This ragged edge to the smooth operator breathes new life into the character and gives a satisfying psychological dimension to how he withstands all of the blood, mayhem, and death he's a party to. And as the filmmakers make sure we notice, the man looks great no matter if he's suited up or soaking wet.
This 21st iteration of Ian Fleming's classic espionage franchise goes back to Bond's beginnings. In flashbacks, we see him commit the murders that secure his status. The newly minted "00" agent then is sent off to Montenegro to pit his gambling prowess against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a cool terror financier who needs to multiply his money in order to avoid death-by-pissed-off-junta. Along the way, Bond acquires a couple of strategic accomplices — Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), the local agent, and Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the American — along with a couple of Bond Girls. First a middleman's wife, the fiery Solange (Caterina Murino), and then a fellow operative, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).
Surprisingly light on fab gadgets, there are, of course, double crosses, fast cars, and lots of gunplay. Particularly cool is the manic, nimble Parkour sequence where Bond hunts a traceur ("free runner" Sebastien Foucan) bouncing and leaping off walls, balconies, and scaffolding through the streets of Madagascar like a human ping-pong ball. The supposedly tense scenes at the high-stakes table in the casino, however, fall as flat in the movie as they did in the book, despite the nearly successful attempt on Bond's life. And Green's Vesper Lynd is far too wimpy a presence to be a believable counterpart for him.
Though the film is easily a half an hour too long, Casino Royale ensures that even 44 years into his movie career, Bond is far from played out. As the end credits roll, the movie's strengths far outshine its faults and you come away re-imagining the Venetian water implosion and the balletic infusion of Parkour, and most of all, delighting in Daniel Craig. Finally, they've found a Bond to rival Connery.
