Bond brings sexy back!

Casino Royale * * * * *

Dir: Martin Campbell

Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Eva Green

Plot: Opening with a black- and-white shot, 007 (Daniel Craig) makes one of the most lacklustre entries in the history of Bond movies. But what follows over the next two hours can hardly be described in the same tone. This time around, the action is Euro-centric. However, the premise is completely different. Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) is the baddie who fills the pockets of warlords by manipulating the stock exchange.
A high-stakes poker game is his last resort to pay back $10 million he owes a terrorist in Uganda. Bond’s mission is to defeat Le Chiffre in the game and win all his money. Assisting him in the task is the svelte Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) who represents Her Majesty’s bank. Apart from the dose of expected adventure, the film takes Bond on an emotional roller coaster he never signed up for.
What’s hot: Casino Royale will easily go down as the least promoted Bond film. Nobody knew who sang the theme song (successor to Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow and Madonna) until we sat in the theatre to watch the super opening credits. You expect him to kick ass, bed the ladies, drive expensive cars and pull off unbelievable action scenes.
But Daniel Craig does all this and more. If the burden of playing Bond wasn’t enough, he has to measure up to the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan. He not only emerges victorious but also wows you with his ability to underplay Bond and take the character to new heights. Dame Judi Dench is back as M (with a hot new hairdo). This time around, M has a naughty edge that only Dench could pull off.
As his sidekick, Eva Green ain’t no dumb blonde serenading as a scientist (Denise Richards in The World Is Not Enough), but an intelligent stock analyst who is afraid of her vulnerability. Mikkelsen’s villain scares not because of his bleeding eye, but the unpredictability of his erratic behaviour. The cinematography does justice to the stunning beauty of Venice, Montenegro and other European locales.
What’s not: Campbell has a lot to tell about Bond. He doesn’t want him to come across as a cardboard cutout swinging in his Aston Martin, but as someone who can falter, get hurt and bleed. In the process, he exceeds the length of the film by getting overly dramatic towards the climax.
It’s a risk making Bond romance a woman and question his credentials as the cold-hearted spy who never loved. The poker game is at the heart of the story and one needs to know a thing or two about the game to understand the goings-on.
Bottom line: A super entertainer, Casino Royale must be watched for Craig’s new-age Bond who prefers casual wear to tuxedos and suits and carries off his Blond look with finesse. And get ready to miss that trademark line as you’re only going to hear it right at the end, as Chris Cornell puts it well in the theme song, ‘You know my name’.