9th January, 2007

DAVID ADAMS

Casino Royale (M)

In A Word: Reinvention

NO CHANGE HERE; Yes, it's Bond in a casino but it's a different Bond to the one we're used to.   "A new take on one of the film industry’s staples, Casino Royale works in putting a fresh face on what we thought we knew so well."

It’s a reinvented blonde Bond for the harder-hitting Noughties. Casino Royale, the 21st Bond film, brings a tougher, gritter and more openly flawed Bond to the screen. Yes, he’s still Bond - he does always win the day - but the trademark humour of previous Bond films is gone (sure, he was still a philandering killer but he did it with a few jokes thrown in).

The film is apparently based reasonably closely on Ian Fleming’s book but It’s certainly a far cry from the original movie, a bizarre and camp comedy along the line of an Austin Powers flick, starring David Niven and Peter Sellers. The new version, in contrast, shows a Bond who has to subvert himself - his conscience and his desire for a quiet life - to perform the grisly tasks the British Government and M (who is again played by Dame Judi Dench) require of him.

There is a coldness and a toughness about this new Bond and Daniel Craig fills the role ably, revealing some of the internal struggle the character goes through as he is transformed into the famous spy. Yet underneath his hard exterior, the movie also reveals a previously unknown softer side of Bond - in one scene he comforts his co-star Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green) with a tenderness not usually seen in Bond films.

Craig proves a good choice for the role as does his blonde hair: both help to emphasise that this is not the Bond we are used to seeing.

In the same vein as Batman Begins, Casino Royale briefly takes us back to the start of the Bond story in a black and white prologue that shows how Bond achieved his 00 status. But the prologue doesn’t go for long and does leave many questions about Bond unanswered - maybe there’s more to come on that subject.

Still, while the differences are stark, much remains similar about this Bond. Yes, he’s once again confronted with some nasty bad guys, this time led by “banker to the world’s terrorists”, a blood-weeping asthmatic called Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelson) whom, in what is the film’s centrepiece, Bond must defeat in a high stakes game of poker to stop him financing more death and destruction.

The gadgets are also still there, although there are fewer and there is no Q nor any trademark scene in which he shows Bond the new gear. In what has become a Bond tradition, the film also contains some far-fetched action scenes - watch out for the early chase scene involving a free movement style known apparently as Parkour. There are also the usual stunning locations and, of course, everyone is living the high life (there are no terrorists living in Afghan caves in Bond’s world).

It’s a long film - just as you feel it’s winding down to a typical Bond ending, a second act kicks off - and the ending leaves the door open for a sequel (which is unusual in itself, Bond films of the past have typically been a self-contained product which little reference to previous works).

A new take on one of the film industry’s staples, Casino Royale works in putting a fresh face on what we thought we knew so well. There's generally nothing particularly redeeming or morally uplifting about Bond films, but they do provide a couple of hours of diverting entertainment. In that respect, this latest film is no different.