Casino Royale - Review

One of my film teachers once said, "Whoever is your first James Bond will always be "your" James Bond." If we went with that logic, then Pierce Brosnan would be my favourite James Bond because the first time I ever experienced 007 was through a VHS copy of Die Another Day. Looking back now, that was probably the worst film to watch as your first James Bond film. Now, I do like Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond (while some of his entries into the series are nothing short of cringeworthy) my favourite James Bond has to be Daniel Craig. While he wasn't the very first 007 portrayal I'd seen, he still to this day is the only James Bond that I have experienced in the theatres. So I guess my teacher's words were true in a way. I consider James Bond and Indiana Jones to be two of my favourite male idols because they are classic examples of masculinity. For all men around the world, a part of them secretly wishes that they were like James Bond. Strikingly handsome, great shape, can fight off loads of bad guys in style, gets to drive luxurious cars, has plenty of cool gadgets (Okay, maybe that's more of the earlier Bond films from the 60's) and gets to sleep with plenty of gorgeous women. If that triggers you knowing that men everywhere want to have sex with hot women, then welcome to the real world. Daniel Craig pulls this off brilliantly. He has the cold, dark suaveness of a secret agent, is extremely good looking and badass. He is the perfect 007 for the 21st Century. The story, surprisingly easy to follow for a James Bond film. Maybe it's just because I haven't seen them in a while, but some of these movies can be confusing. Casino Royale is able to hook you in throughout the whole movie. That's a given with some great action scenes, but it's really an accomplishment that you are able to be sucked into a story so much where the majority of the film consists of characters playing cards. That's all you need to make an entertaining action spy thriller. A good lead, great action and a story that sucks you in. Luckily, this film gives us some extra goodies such as Mads Mikkelsen giving us a compelling Bond villain and Eva Green giving us probably the most complex Bond girl in history. Not to mention Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" as the title track. While all that is fantastic, the real reason I love this film is that it really dives into the character of James Bond like we have never seen him before. This film asks the question, "What does it do to a man's soul when he kills another person or knowing that he is responsible for the deaths of others because of "the mission."" Thinking of this film in terms of what came before it, this film was a huge step forward. Not only did this film feel much more grounded in reality, it dived into character more than any other Bond film before it, making it the perfect origin story for a new, revitalized James Bond. If you have never seen a James Bond movie before, start here. Casino Royale is an amazing movie.