Published Nov. 16, 2006 in Kansas City’s Sun Tribune, Sun Gazette and Liberty Tribune newspapers.
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By Steve Crum
Good news—maybe—for 007 fans: James Bond is back in Casino Royale as a buff, no nonsense, licensed kiler as played by Daniel Craig. The maybe is for die-hard fans like yours truly who expect certainties in our Bond flicks. After 20 movies, why not? Then again, accept this 21st as truly retro Bond since the screenplay (Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade) is closely based on Ian Fleming’s original Bond debut novel of the same name.
Many frills are missing, like Q’s ingenious gadgets. Don’t expect to see exploding watches, jet backpacks and car ejector seats. (However, 007 does drive a nifty Aston Martin DBS.) In fact, forget about inventor Q 
himself. He is not even referenced. Very missed is a John Barry score, which greatly enhanced the mood and action in the Sean Connery and Roger Moore vehicles. Composer David Arnold, with his fourth Bond score, again suggests Barry’s music rather effectively. Grunge singer Chris Cornell sings the OK theme song, “You Know My Name,” over the animated opening, which he also scored.
Nearly absent is Bond’s smooth, ultra-sophisticated persona. He does appear in tuxedo, particularly 
during the second act in the high stakes poker sequence. More often, Craig’s Bond is shirtless and bloody, usually after chasing a bad guy up and down endless structures. He is even tortured while bound and nude.
As for the animated opening, Casino’s is among the best of the series, and most surreal. It might be the most colorful, depicting images of 007 warding off gigantic playing cards that bleed.
Do expect healthy doses of Bond women, extraordinary stunt work, and international locales. Dame Judi Dench returns as M, head of the British Secret Service, who continues her love/hate relationship with her most trying agent. Speaking of agents, Jeffrey Wright does a fine turn as CIA 
operative and Bond buddy Felix Leiter.
A James Bond movie must have a strong villain, and Casino Royale supplies one via Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a terrorist banker and sadistic poker player who literally bleeds through his tear ducts. Now that is evil.
As mentioned, there are characters and gimmicks missing in Casino, since the story occurs at the 
beginning of Bond’s secret agent career. Early in the story, he is told he cannot be a full-fledged 007 until he has had at least two clean kills, which he accomplishes with aplomb. M has misgivings about her fledgling agent,, and James is an unknown to his adversaries since he has zero reputation. Previous entries in the Bond series make one wonder how he could call himself a “secret” agent. Here, he truly is.
Although this marks the beginning of the Bond saga, practicalities of our world and current events 
influenced the writers. Retro or not, this Bond uses a call phone, computers, and does his best to stop the funding of terrorism. Nothing really needs to be added to the plot overview except that our hero becomes romantically involved with treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).
Undoubtedly, having second-time Bond director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) helps in franchise continuity. Casino Royale is a definite see for Bonders like myself who can accept the hard-hitting Craig…Daniel Craig.
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GRADE on A-F Scale: B
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