Casino Royale 2006 Running Time
'Casino Royale' has the answers to all my complaints about the 45-year-old James Bond series, and some I hadn't even thought of. It's not that I didn't love some of the earlier films, like some, dislike others and so on, as that I was becoming less convinced that I ever had to see another one. After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations.
, who also introduced us to Pierce Brosnan in his run as Bond with the critically acclaimed Goldeneye, Casino Royale is loosely based on the original Ian Fleming book of the same name and in such, strips away much of the usual flare that the films have become so well remembered for. As this is the story of how Bond gets his start, he is without the numerous gadgets and toys that are typically at his disposal, instead relying on his physical skills to earn his way into the fold. The biggest change though was casting the hero, this time far removed from the dashing, dark and debonaire figure that has come to define 007. Daniel Craig, already getting established as a strong leading man and action star, was a shocking choice, and one that had a lot to prove as fans were understandably concerned. Those fears were quickly dispelled though as Craig took the role of Bond and reshaped into into the very thing the modern era required, an action star who was more human, more vulnerable, and more authentic. It was the Bond many had been hoping for, a character that embraced the ideals of Fleming’s famous novels but morphed them into a new hero people could better identify with. His genuine love for Vesper (Eva Green) was a surprise, doing away with casual and over-sexed Bonds of the past. Campbell grounded the film is practicality, making Bond a down and dirty fighter, the action far more full of consequence, the dangers much more real. This was a startling good Bond and it re-ignited the once floundering series.