Casino Royale

A couple of days before Casino Royale came out, there was a poll ranking the best James Bonds. Sean Connery was number one, of course, with Pierce Brosnan snatching second from Roger Moore who was then followed by Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby. What struck me odd is that they would conduct this list even before seeing the new Bond film starring Daniel Craig. Now, after seeing this stellar installment, they have to change the list again. In my opinion, and I know I’m not alone; we have a new number two! Let’s start off by saying that no one is going to dethrone Sean Connery as the ultimate Bond. He created the character on screen for Pete’s sake. Connery is the benchmark for all future Bonds. Daniel Craig comes close. I could care less about his blond locks, this Bond can act! My only problem with the guy was his sudden monogamous nature, which is more of a script-writing problem. And to think that everyone was up in arms when they heard Craig was being named Brosnan’s successor.

I haven’t been overly thrilled with the action movie offerings this year, so it was a breath of fresh air to see this fast moving flick. The opening chase sequence alone is worth the admission price. I was on the edge of my seat watching this quick-thinking Bond try to get ahead of the extreme freestyling villain. After the intense chase, you get treated to the wonderful exchanges between snarky Bond and Judi Dench’s prickly M. The climactic poker game is nicely played with a rollercoaster of wins and losses. I have to agree with Richard Roeper’s assessment that these Texas Hold ‘Em deals are so monumentally unbelievable. I have never played round where there were so many face cards appearing in every player’s hand as well as the river. It was like the royal festival was in town or something. Watching this no-limit battle, I’m glad I spent all those hours watching the World Poker Tour. Unfortunately, the movie took a bad turn after the game.

One of the things I missed in this Bond story was Q and the use of cool gizmos. While I’ll admit that the invisible car that was introduced in the last Bond movie was retarded, I do enjoy seeing fully-functional cufflinks and jet packs and such. But I’m guessing they’ll reintroduce Q in the next Bond film, so I can forgive this oversight. What I couldn’t ignore however was the terrible last thirty minutes of this film. The writers didn’t know how to end the story. They went on and on like a run-on sentence. It was like watching the end of Lord of the Rings with its multiple endings. Bond is in love, there’s a kidnapping, torture, love scenes, double-double crosses, a collapsing building. It was during that last half hour that I kept checking my watching thinking, surely this must be over soon. A Bond film should never exceed two hours.

Regardless of the last thirty minutes, you should definitely see Casino Royale in the movie theatre. And if you have the guts, walk out after the triumphant poker scene and get someone to fill you in on what happens after that. Guys might be relieved to be spared the cringe-inducing yet oddly humourous torture scene. Anyway, I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the next James Bond film, and I haven’t said that in a long, long time.