#242 – Casino Royale (2006)
Posted in IMDb Top 250, Movies & TV on January 3rd, 2009Ahh Mr Bond. Without a doubt the biggest and longest running movie franchise ever. We’ve seen many men step into the shoes of James Bond and the current one, Daniel Craig, does not disappoint. To be fair, after Pierce Brosnan my mother would have done a better job. Whoever was responsible for the utter tripe that was the Bond movies under Brosnan should be shot. Even so, Craig has done an excellent job of reviving the franchise and steering it in a new direction. The credit is not all his naturally. Those that make the decisions for the Bond movies have hit a home run with Casino Royale and I hope they continue.
Casino Royale takes us away from corny one liners and forgettable plots and introduces us to the beginning of 007. We see a real man that gets cut up, beat up, outsmarted and has his heart broken. It explains the how and the why which no other Bond movie did to date. The performances were fantastic and the baddie played by Danish Mads Mikkelsen was in particular outstanding. The pacing is a sweeping roller coaster ride with 3 clear acts each distinctly unique. A must see at 9/10.