Considering I'm really not much of a James Bond guy (though, to be fair, Casino Royale is the oldest of the four 007 movies I've ever seen), I was flat-out impressed with just how much Casino Royale won me over, it really commits to the idea of this being a younger James Bond and gets so much excitement out of it. This isn't just an early mission for James Bond, Casino Royale drops in on this character just as he's committing the two kills that earned him his status as a 007 agent. Right afterward, he establishes himself as a guy who won't be following the rules set up by his superiors, especially those coming from M (Judi Dench), in his foot-chase with a bomb maker.
In this chase scene, Casino Royale establishes clearly that the default pop culture vision of James Bond as a suave figure who can do no wrong is gonna get repeatedly upended. Bond is heavily outmatched by the parkour master he's after, he's constantly getting left in the dust and even outwitted by his opponent. It's made clear that Bond has a lot to learn, but the character's inexperience gives the gangbusters action sequences of Casino Royale a real jolt of unpredictability that's intoxicating. Despite his lack of experience, Bond is about to be sent off to play in a poker game against, among other players, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the film's entry into the Bond villain canon.
Mads Mikkelsen playing a villainous character in a blockbuster?? I know, it sounds impossible, but that's just who Mikkelsen portrays here, a wicked financier of terrorists who Bond must beat in poker so that Le Chiffre's bank account is drained right down to the last penny. Accompanying Bond on this mission is Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and there just might be a potential romance between her and Bond that blossoms before the credits begin to roll. Though the requisite staples of the franchise like the Bond girl and the Bond villain are on-hand, Casino Royale ensures that both characters are entertaining in their own right and can serve as more than just elements they can use to check off another box on the list of James Bond cliches.
Another staple of this long-standing franchise, expansive action sequences, also gets brought to life with real creativity here. James Bond keeps encountering all kinds of set pieces that are constantly throwing new obstacles at this inexperienced secret agent every turn, with an extended airport chase scene being a perfect example of this. Casino Royale maintains a propulsive sense of tension that makes it clear that both Bond and the viewer must be prepared for anything and that sense of tension is executed with a sense of theatricality (that airport chase scenes use of a giant airplane engine that ends up sending some cop cars flying into the air had me so giddy, what a delightful touch!) that's just so much fun to watch.
The tension is maintained even in smaller-scale sequences, like the brilliantly edited sequences depicting Bond playing off against Le Chiffre and others in the pivotal poker game or Bond trying to restart his heart after he's been poisoned (boy, that latter scene is exceptionally intense and well-done!). All the while, Daniel Craig is around in his very first portrayal of James Bond. Having only seen his Bond movies, I cannot say how Craig compares to past incarnations of the character, but I can say that he's doing marvelous work here portraying a man clearly and constantly out of his element but still carrying a persistent air of suave determination all the same. Craig is just as convincing portraying the most vulnerable moments of James Bond in Casino Royale as he is in depicting the characters most victorious moments and it's in those vulnerable moments that Craig excels so much at making the character of James Bond actually fascinating to watch that it becomes clear that Casino Royale has fulfilled its mission of reviving the James Bonds franchise.
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