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When a Ugandan rebel needs his small fortune off-the-books, a shady organization refers him to the banker for the world's terrorists.' Casino Royale' - A film. #6 in my Ranking of the James Bond Franchise. I don’t think the Bond franchise needed a reboot after Licence to Kill with Goldeneye, but it definitely needed one after Die Another Day with Casino Royale. The franchise had devolved into silly setups with mish-mashed storytelling while contrasting horribly with the central take on the character. It needed to.

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After the conceptual bloat of the late Pierce Brosnan films, the coming of Daniel Craig was supposed to be a return to basics: a post-bubble austerity program for a franchise struggling with its longstanding reliance on subprime special effects and gimmicks.

And the intro sequence here is extremely basic. Gone are the massive action set-pieces, the mind-boggling stunts, the beautiful women, the cars, the gadgets. Instead, we watch, in flashback, the story of how Bond first earned his “00” status — his license to kill.

But what it lacks in flash, it makes up for in film-school artsiness. The whole sequence — in which a crooked MI6 station chief arrives at his Prague office to find Bond waiting for him — is shot in hi-contrast black and white, with Hitchcockian camera angles and stark, shallow-focus closeups. It’s quite beautiful, really. But we didn’t come here for a master class in building cinematic tension; we want to see Bond kick some ass. Which he does, satisfyingly, in a flashback-within-the-flashback—but again, it’s a stripped down fight scene, two guys going mano a mano in a dingy restroom.

The intro manages the nice trick of highlighting that this is not only a new Bond movie but that this is a new Bond, one we haven’t seen before. Pierce Brosnan’s 007 had a family motto, while Roger Moore’s drank espresso and had an exclusive bootmaker. This Bond, however, seems to have no such upper-class pretensions. He’s a cold-eyed killer: tougher, meaner and a lot more rough around the edges.

2:20 casino-royale. An aging James Bond comes out of retirement to once again battle a spy organization, and, atypically, rebuff beautiful women.

GRADE: B

NextGoldfinger, 1964

Mission

James Bond's first '007' mission leads him to Le Chiffre, banker to the world's terrorists. In order to stop him, and bring down the terrorist network, Bond must beat Le Chiffre in a poker game at the Casino Royale. Bond meets a beautiful British Treasury official, Vesper Lynd, who is assigned to deliver his stake for the game and watch over the government's money. But, as Bond and Vesper survive a series of lethal attacks by Le Chiffre and his henchmen, a mutual attraction develops.

Locations

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Prague, Czech Republic; Lahore, Pakistan; London, UK; Uganda; Madagascar; Bahamas; Miami, USA; Trieste, Italy; Montenegro.

Pre-Credits Sequence

James Bond earns his double-o licence to kill by eliminating two enemies. The first dies a brutal and messy death in the washrooms of a cricket ground, whereas the second is a clean and clinical execution of a rogue operator handling the double-o section. For the first time in the Bond series, the scenes are shot in black and white to act as a flashback explaining Bond's promotion. The classic gunbarrel opener is saved until the credits sequence, where the film bursts back in to colour.

Title

The title is taken from Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, and also features as the name of the casino in which 007 must bankrupt villain Le Chiffre.

Release Data

UK: 16th November 2006 (12A)
USA: 17th November 2006 (PG-13)
World Premiere: 14th November 2006 (Odeon Leicester Square, UK)
UK TV Premiere: 19th September 2009, ITV
US TV Premiere: 5th June 2009, USA Network

Running Time: 144 minutes
Classification: 12A (UK), PG-13 (US)
Budget: $72m
Worldwide Box Office: $594.2m
US Box Office: $167.4m
US Admissions: CLASSIFIED
UK Box Office: $105.9m

Best Line

Casino Royale 2006 Cast

Bartender: 'Shaken or stirred?'
Bond: 'Does it look like I give a damn?'

Best Mistake

When Bond enters his pass code at the poker game, he enters 836547. This combination of numbers cannot spell VESPER. However, at the end of the film when Vesper Lynd enters the pass code, the last three digits entered are 737 (which, indeed, can spell PER).

Distinguishing feature

For the first time in the series, the film does not open with the traditional gunbarrel, which only appears after a stylised black and white sequence that shows how Bond earned his double-0 status.

Vital Statistics

Conquests: 1.5
Martinis: 3
Kills: 12
'Bond, James Bond': 1

The Making Of Casino Royale

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The road to Casino Royale began in March 2004 when scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (“The World Is Not Enough” – 1999, “Die Another Day” – 2002) began work on the screenplay. According to the duo, at that time they were writing the film with Pierce Brosnan in mind. That would all change a couple of months later when tabloid rumours spread that Brosnan had not been asked back for a fifth film.

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Behind the scenes, the task of casting a new 007 had begun. The title of the film and the return of “GoldenEye” (1995) helmer Martin Campbell was announced in February 2005, further hinting that the director was to usher another fresh face into 007’s tuxedo.