Casino Royale

After "Bond" (Connery), "Strange Bond" (Lazenby), "Funny Bond" (Moore), "Rambo Bond" (Dalton) and "Mixed Bond" (Brosnan), here's another guy. Daniel Craig - "Rough Pissed Off Bond". Casino Royale is a gripping film that will keep you interested from start to finish. The "crane and all that" scene is one of the most bombastic action spectacles I've ever seen in a movie theater, and clearly the best of the entire film. But the rest of the Casino is not far behind. For example, I would never have believed that it is possible to film poker games in a thrilling and entertaining way. The new generation Bond did not disappoint - Craig is likable, he is human and not a machine seducing busty nymphs, he is tough as nails and entertaining. Great! (28/08/2009)

After some time, and after watching a rerun, I began to like this 21st Bond film. I also like Eva Green thanks to Dark Shadows and I'm taking more and more to Mads Mikkelsen thanks to A Royal Affair. They have a nice interchange at the Casino, Mads has a very tasty villain with a bleeding eye and Eva is a different kind of beauty than the ones James has been dating. The plot is good, the scenery pleasing to the eye, the action and humor just right, and of course the flawless final point. I certainly enjoyed that. (27/08/2012)

It was a terrible blow at the time. After four adventures with the elegant Brosnan, the tough guy Craig came, an uncompromising sharpshooter, a bleeding brawler, a tormented sarcastic, and a rough mountain of secret agent potential. In front of his charisma, out of respect, I almost hid under the seat, but he didn't fit my previous perception of the Bond brand. The dry lines remained, the technical toys gave way to dirty action, and it was only after a long 14 years since the premiere that I finally realized, during a specific "regeneration" revision, how perfectly balanced the Montenegrin card spectacle turned out to be. From the black and white intro to the Italian shot. (05/12/2006)

Casino Royale is a departure from the long-standing British tradition and in many ways differs from its older predecessors. It is less noble, and polished, and contains less (self) irony. It is much more of a modern, fast-paced action thriller, where James Bond's name might not even have to appear. However, that is not, in my view, detrimental, and in some respects, it is a pleasant change from familiar clichés. Daniel Craig is not immediately as likable, and he needs to earn the audience's favor differently. No Bond film has likely experienced such a good character actor who is also physically up to par. Eva Green is not only a beautiful girl in sexy dresses, but the same applies to her acting. She is primarily an excellent actress. The action scenes and chases are well-directed by Martin Campbell and are a highlight of this film. The script is average, but it also managed to avoid absurd sci-fi constructions and devilish inventions. All in all - a pleasant surprise in the action genre. Overall rating: 80%. (04/12/2007)

After a year and a half, I’m changing my review. Maybe it's because I've started to enjoy poker, maybe it's because more bombastic action like the opening in Madagascar would only hurt it, and mostly maybe it's because I’m finally willing to separate the terms "Bond" and "Bourne," whilst also acknowledging that a similar concept doesn't mean plagiarism. Instead, I enjoyed two and a half hours of a thrilling adventure that Daniel Craig is happy to drag you through with him. It’s all done with such vigor that you'll take punches too, and when Eva Green whispers sugarplums in your ear, you'll melt. A couple of hours after watching it, I am unbearably tempted to put the disc in the DVD player again. Could a film have a better calling card? (09/11/2008)