Good evening ladies & gentlemen! Tonight, we are going into more movie reviewing once again. This time, we are down to the last four 007 films until 007: No Time To Die gets released hopefully this November. Tonight, we are covering the very first James Bond movie, in which Daniel Craig makes his very first debut as the famous fictional agent. Released back in November 2006, the film is 007: Casino Royale.
Plot: James Bond (Daniel Craig) attempts to pursue some greedy money lenders from places like Uganda, Madagascar, and a few other countries, in order to recover a large sum of money that the villains plan to use for greedy purposes. Can Bond thwart their schemes, and bring the money back where it belongs?
Okay, as far as Daniel Craig filling the shoes of other actors who have played James Bond up to this point go, Craig may not be quite as great as some of those actors go. Still, he does very well with playing James Bond. Also, let’s remember that this is Craig’s first debut as this character. It is likely guaranteed that Daniel Craig got better as time went on. Of course we have Judi Dench as Agent M, and some new actors and actresses playing some newer characters that have entered this franchise. Anyway, what else makes this film really good? Well, one should admire the newer direction that this story seems to go. Yes, you can tell that you’re watching a James Bond movie as you watch 007: Casino Royale. However, what seems to make this film stand out from most of the other films in this series is that this one seems to be a little more serious, and seems to act a little more realistic than some of the other films before this one. Okay, not to say that the other films before this didn’t do well with showing what life is like in the spy business, or other aspects like it. Still, this movie does a really great job of doing that. In addition to all of this, the color palette of this film is really great too. When there’s gray coloring in the movie at certain moments, has the movie in normal colors, and things like that, the movie knows when to works those things into it’s story. Next, there are the characters. Now, I may have mentioned in the past that whether it be a James Bond movie, or a movie period, that certain characters need to be in enough scenes to be developed more. This time around, even for some of the characters that have a very small amount of screen time, they seem to be developed very well. As for the characters overall, they all stand out really, really well. As for the relationship between James Bond, and Vesper Lynd (who was played by Eva Green in this film) could most probably be co side red one of the more complicated relationships that Bond may have had as of yet. It’s still a good relationship overall, don’t get me wrong. Even so, you might find yourself enjoying some of the unique aspects of this particular relationship. Also, going off of that aspect of this film, the story of 007: Casino Royale seems to overall act much more different than some of the other typical James Bond movies up to this point. However, that can come off as a double-edged sword in this case. Yes, it was good for MGM, and Columbia Pictures (yes, that company also helped make this film) make this film get rid of certain cliches that were previously found in the other James Bond films prior to this one. However, at the same time, some people might find themselves appreciating the older films in this franchise a little more than this one because of that aspect. Oh, and as for the music by David Arnold, what a great score he composes. Whether it may be the good moments, or the more melancholy times, he most definitely knows how to draw the audience in with his music. Finally, 007: Casino Royale teaches some valuable lessons about being careful about learning who to trust, or not trust in life. We may think we can be a good judge of character even when meeting newer people. However, this film can be a great example of why it’s good to take a step back, and sometimes assess people in our lives. Another good lesson to take away from watching this film is that we should be careful about making certain decisions that could be life-altering in our lives.
The only thing that seemed to keep this film from getting an A+ is that 007: Casino Royale seemed to drag a little too much at points. Honestly, there are times, where you might find yourself thinking that this film could have been around 10-15 minutes shorter than it actually was in the end.
And that’s my review for 007: Casino Royale. Even if the film may drag at points, there’s still plenty to enjoy from this film. It ends being more unique, and has some really important lessons to teach in this film. If you haven’t seen 007: Casino Royale yet, this is definitely one that should be recommended maybe a little more than the other before it, or possibly even after. Of course, I still have yet to rewatch the next three films, soon to be four very soon. Regardless, definitely make this a 007 film for you to watch sooner, rather than later! You’d be surprised by how different this film seems to be from many of the other James Bond movies.
Final Grade: A
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