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CASINO ROYALE (PG-13)

Plot Summary: A super-spy must stop terrorists from funding their activities

Reason for the Rating: Intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.

Bond…James Bond.

How we love this spy who uses his suave personality and high-tech gadgets to catch his prey. If you like that Bond, and are hoping to see him again in Casino Royale, then you’ll probably be surprised and possibly disappointed with this newest film in the franchise. But, if you have enjoyed the Mission Impossible and Bourne Identity movies, you’ll love Daniel Craig as the new James Bond.

This newest (oldest?) adventure of Bond is actually the first story in the series, explaining how he came to earn his 007 status, as well as some of the experiences that led to the smooth operator we’ve seen in previous movies. This Bond (Daniel Craig) is hard, arrogant, and brutal. He has no soul and has shut off all emotion, as he must do to be an effective killer – and this is at least one reason which explains his many sexual exploits without connection or personal meaning to the many “Bond girls” we’ve come to know through the past 20 movies.

The plot of Casino Royale is a bit difficult to follow, as it jumps from bad guy to bad guy, until settling upon Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkleson), a banker who uses terrorist money to play the stock market. While Le Chiffre is creepy with a cloudy eye that weeps blood, he’s not the evil villain we’ve seen in previous Bond movies. When James foils his plot to blow up an airplane, Le Chiffre loses $100 million and therefore, sets up a high stakes poker game to win back his losses and pay back his clients. Of course, Mr. Bond gets in on the action.

This is one of the slowest parts of the movie, as it’s hard to make a 2-day poker game exciting. Typically, we see this type of scene placed at the end of a movie, as the climax to the plot. In Casino Royale, the card game is in the middle of this 2½ hour LONG movie. The story then moves on to Bond falling in love with the MI6 accountant, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), only to jump back into the previous storyline (just when you think it’s over, it starts all over again). While the love story is nice, it is really unnecessary and out of place. We are supposed to be convinced that this hard, cold killer is softened by this vulnerable woman and willing to quit the spy business altogether, all in the matter of two days. Unlikely.

While Bond movies aren’t supposed to be taken too seriously, the plot just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Once Le Chiffre is found, why isn’t he taken into custody? What was the purpose of playing the card game, just to arrest him at the end? Much of what Bond does, especially at the beginning, is unexplained, and his abilities are unbelievable. The characters lack depth, are predictable, and really aren’t that likeable. Except, I must say, Daniel Craig does an excellent job of being a hard, mean, brutal killer. Most of the movie he sports numerous cuts on his hands and face, and many of the fight scenes and murders are ugly and graphic. He is focused and determined.

Unlike previous Bond movies, Casino Royale does not employ the use of interesting gadgets. Q and Moneypenny are missing from the story as well, with the only other familiar character being M (Judi Dench). M isn’t so impressed with Bond, calling him a “blunt instrument” at one point, as he lacks refinement and discretion. He’s such a loose cannon, she has a tracking device inserted into the inside of his wrist and has someone watching over him the rest of his assignment. Not quite the James Bond you expect to see, but by the end of the movie he has begun to show some of the qualities we have come to know in James Bond.

FAMILYFANS RECOMMENDS:

If you like action movies, you will undoubtedly enjoy this one, but don’t go expecting to see what we’ve seen in Sean Connery, Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan. This is a new James Bond, re-invented for a new, harder-edged audience.

Additionally, it is unbelievable that the movie is rated PG-13, as it really should be R for the torture scene specifically. This movie is for adults and older teens.

AFTER THE SHOW: 

• What did you like or dislike about the new James Bond? Is there anything from previous Bond movies you would like to have seen?

• Bond is described as having no soul, meaning his lack of conscience and emotion. Do you think someone like this could be changed so dramatically, as portrayed in the movie? Explain.

• In what areas has God changed you, softening and refining your rough edges?

JW

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