Quote:
Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  Casino Royale (2006) ★★★★
From the opening sequence and Chris Cornell's superb theme song to its final scene, I watched this with almost as much enjoyment and interest as when I watched it in the cinema 14 years ago.
Casino Royale is a tightly written and expertly directed spy thriller which benefits from the lack of an über villain – Le Chiffre is only a main player in the second act but is believable and played with real menace by Mads Mikkelsen – and the network of criminals extends to the immediate sequel. After the high-octane first act, the entire middle section centres on a game of poker which, to the spectator, isn't the most exciting of activities, yet it is a tense and gripping game, aided in no small part by the off-table events.
This is almost a Bond film for people who don’t generally like Bond films – I suspect it was subconsciously influenced by the Bourne movies which arguably breathed life into the dying espionage action genre – and is perhaps the reason I like it so much. |
My only gripe regarding this is the final third is too long and drawn out. From the breathless excitement of the poker game (i can't believe i just typed that) we end up with what can only be described as an elongated romance. I can understand why it's there - to give the finale and betrayal more of an impact but OHMSS did the romantic angle so much better than it's done here.
Other than that it's top five in my Bond list and far superior to any of the films that followed.