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James Bond, that inimitable, stiff upper lip British secret agent is at it again (the 21st film) and since the cold war is dead and there’s only one superpower, they’ve picked upon terrorism to peg their story on. Of course, we have a new Bond, the sixth in line, Daniel Craig who wears an everyman look but guess "handsome is what handsome does" but he looks natty in a suit and with a lady on his arm. He grows on you and so does the film Casino Royale, which will go down a one of the better Bond films. There’s a four-minute chase to start with from ground to sky, almost and then back to earth that only reiterates James Bond’s (Craig) athleticism. That he is upbraided for his efforts by M (Dame Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, is another matter altogether. "These bastwant your head and I’m seriously considering feeding you to them," she tells him. There’s good repartee with her as also with treasure official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the heroine who makes her entry midway through the film, thanks to an excellent script by Oscar-winning Paul Figgis and Co and director Martin Campbell (Golden Eye and the Zoro films) who maintains a staccato pace which doesn’t allow the viewer to use his thinking faculties. The only dull moments are the casino scenes and the poker hands but then you can’t have Casino Royale without the casino, can you? Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a banker to the world’s terrorists, is the villain who plays the stock market with his clients’ funds. But the viewer has as little a clue with the terrorism connection as probably United States President George Bush. But Chiffre is not the only villain. They seem to be coming out of the wood but the chemistry with Vesper Lynd is well handled and the plot with its many twists and turns and red herrings is surely a winner. If only it had been reduced from 140 minutes to 120. It is quality one wants, not quantity. Craig is adequate but the French actress surely makes her presence felt as she displays a wide range of emotions. Still Casino Royale is an excellent entertainer (unlike the 1967 disaster of the same name, a 20-starrer which tried in vain to be a spoof) replete with the usual Bond accessories, fast sleek cars, Aston Martins, heady martinis and charming locales (from Africa to Italy and the Bahamas and the English countryside, of course). Bond even tries his hand at medicine, a do-it-yourself kit so to say, which means that there’s much going. Daniel Craig’s face
may not be his fortune but he serves the purpose and makes Casino
Royale a first-rate entertainer.
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Replete with the
usual Bond accessories — fast sleek cars, Aston Martins, heady
martinis and charming locales — there’s much going for Casino
Royale, writes Ervell E. Menezes