Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
Bond is a newly promoted double-00 agent, and his investigation into a bombmaker eventually leads him to Le Chiffre, a terrorist financier. After Le Chiffre loses a hundred million dollars after Bond foils his plan, he holds a poker match at Casino Royale to win it back. Bond enters the game under the supervision of treasury representative Vesper Lynd, who he later falls in love with.
Memorable Quote:
Vodka martini. ~Bond
Vodka martini. ~Bond
Shaken or stirred? ~Bartender
Do I look like I give a damn? ~Bond
Highlight:
A lot of great scenes to choose from. I'm always a sucker for the Caribbean locale, and I'm gonna go with the scenes in the Bahamas, first where he pretends to be the valet and wrecks the guy's car (and I love the arrogance with which he casually and disdainfully tosses the keys aside), and second where he wins the Aston Martin in the poker game.
Lowlight:
The opening scene falls flat and isn't very compelling.
Most interesting piece of IMDB trivia:
This is the first movie in the forty-four years of James Bond where it rains.
Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
- This movie is directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed Goldeneye and The Mask of Zorro.
- The chase scene in Madagascar is fantastic, as is the subsequent embassy scene. The actor who Bond is chasing is a real-life parkour master, meaning that he can basically run and jump and climb like a cat. These scenes are also a great introduction to Bond's intensity and determination.
- 28:58 mark -- What are the odds that when Dimitrios receives the phone call from the bombmaker, he'll be right in line with the camera Bond is reviewing? What if he was in his hotel room?
- 32:00 -- What a beautiful scene with the nighttime pool and surrounding trees and steel drums playing softly in the background. I just now looked up the filming location, and it actually is called The Ocean Club and is in the Bahamas. I would not mind going there someday.
- How does Bond get through the standard airport security?
- Excellent opening scene for Vesper on the train -- well acted and great dialogue and chemistry between her and Bond.
- 1:10:33 -- It's clear that Bond does not enter "Vesper" as the password.
- Instead of Vesper leaving a "message" for Bond in the hotel room on her phone, why couldn't she have just talked to him about it. Always better to talk things through.
- 2:17:00 -- Regarding Vesper's Algerian boyfriend, M tells Bond that "We should have picked up on it." No shit, M, you just said the same thing in Die Another Day with Miranda and Moon on the fencing team together. Doesn't anyone in MI6 do background checks?
- Two interesting casting notes: the actress at the poker table in the Bahamas appeared in Thunderball, and the actress at the poker table at Casino Royale appeared in You Only Live Twice.
Fantastic movie and script, ranking it 2 out of 21. It's a long movie, but I don't feel like any of the scenes are wasted. Even the poker scenes, which go on for quite a long time, are captivating throughout. Daniel Craig is excellent as Bond -- I can see why there were some doubts about him just based on his appearance, like he doesn't have quite the leading man look. But he plays the role very well with intensity, arrogance, and humanity. I also appreciate that this movie, while being grittier and darker than some of its predecessors, isn't quite as dour or depressing as some of the movies that follow. Martin Campbell delivers once again.
I remember enjoying this movie but also feeling that it didn't quite live up to the pre-screening hype for me. My expectations were so high going in that it would probably behoove me to watch it a second time and see if I liked it better. My biggest memory of it was what you cited as a downside....poker scenes that drug on really, really long.
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