Casino Royale (2006)

9.00pm, Sunday, RTÉ Two

‘’I won’t consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood’’ With Daniel Craig soon to be making his fth and nal appearance as James Bond, this is an opportunity to revisit the actor’s rst screen outing in the famous tuxedo. Casino Royale was Fleming’s rst novel and it introduced a character who was, in the author’s own words, “cruel, sadistic and emotionally detached”. As we watch the lm’s prologue, in which tyro agent Bond earns his licence-to-kill status, it’s clear that Craig is that Bond. Unlike the cartoonish Roger Moore, Daniel Craig is a esh-and-blood Bond, which is just as well, since he shows plenty of esh and sheds plenty of blood throughout the course of this movie.

Casino Royale opens with the obligatory Bond chase sequence, but this one doesn’t involve the usual speedboats, fast cars and helicopters. Instead, 007 nds himself pursuing a baddie, played by Parkour legend, Sébastien Foucan, who takes him up cranes, down buildings and over obstacles in a dazzling sequence that sets the benchmark for what’s to follow. The plot continues with our hero on the trail of nasty villain Le Chi re, played by Mads Mikkelsen. The initial sparring between these two takes place (naturally) across a high-stakes poker table; while the nal showdown involves a naked Bond, a cane chair and a length of rope (don’t ask). By this time, Bond has hooked up with attractive sidekick, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Though there’s plenty of hightech gadgetry on show, there’s no Q in Casino Royale and therefore no unrealistic gizmos. There is however plenty of iconic introductions: Bond’s rst encounter with an Aston Martin, his rst taste of a shaken-notstirred Martini, and the rst time he introduces himself with that line (you know the one).

★★★★