Casino Royale Turns 20, and Daniel Craig Made James Bond Human Again

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Casino Royale opened in cinemas in November 2006, so it turns 20 this month. It was Daniel Craig's first outing as James Bond, and the film went back to the start of 007's career with a grittier tone. Many fans still rank the reboot near the top of the series.

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Eva Green plays Vesper Lynd, the accountant who gets under Bond's skin, and their scenes on the train and in Venice are the film's heart. Mads Mikkelsen is Le Chiffre, a banker for terrorists who weeps tears of blood, and he makes the poker game feel dangerous.

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The card game at the casino in Montenegro is the centre of the film, and it is a smart choice to build the tension around something so quiet. Bond's nervous hands, the chips and the stakes matter more than any explosion.

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The gadgets are kept low key compared with the older films. The Aston Martin DBS is still in the film, and the parkour chase in Madagascar opens the movie with a bang, which tells you straight away that the rules have changed.

Photo: Karen Roe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Which Bond do you think is best? I have come around to Craig's films, and I suspect Casino Royale is the one I would recommend to anyone who thinks Bond is just a suit and a martini.