James Bond never dies. In 2006, after four years of film fallow, more or less forced, the high priests of Eon Production Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, aware of a concern for renewal, struck a blow by entrusting Daniel Craig with the role of agent 007. The British actor, who once worked under the direction of Steven Spielberg ( Munich , 2005), both darker and more physical than his immediate predecessor Pierce Brosnan, will deliver a breathtaking stage performance in Casino Royale . A free, very free adaptation of the historic first novel by the hero's creator, Ian Fleming.
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For this regenerated James Bond, director Martin Campbell and some seasoned screenwriters of the saga (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis), come back to the fundamentals that made the success of the first films: a disturbing villain, the financier of planetary terrorism, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and a James Bond girl, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), with a shapely head and bewitching charm.
Around these essential characters the intrigue of Casino Royale sows to all winds the ingredients of a james-bonderie worthy of Goldfinger or even The Spy who loved me . The poker game between 007 and Le Chiffre, with three of a kind and a straight arrow, makes the millions of dollars waltz. The perverse assassination is also in order. The bad guy will not hesitate to torture the secret agent by hitting his genitals with a knotted rope ...
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The magnificent casualness of Sean Connery and the British humor of Roger Moore are definitely put away in the closet. Daniel Craig, certainly inspired by Matt Damon's play in Jason Bourne , is a serious spy. From now on, he will no longer joke with the fate of the West. And a few years later, in the excellent Skyfall , which became Freudian, he even flirted with psychological introspection.
Eva Green and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006) Leemage
007, the spy with unhappy loves
Bond point, however, without dream decorations. Casino Royale is no exception to the rule that Ian Fleming and the various adapters of his works are sort of Jules Verne of the 20th and 21st centuries. The action begins as it should in the Bahamas, the golden retirement, the haven of peace of the best agent of Intelligence Service. Very quickly, mission requires, he begins to circle a world tour. The famous Casino Royale hotel (without spelling errors, therefore) is located in Montenegro. The shots, surroundings, are idyllic. Then 007 falls in love with Vesper Lynd, the action is transported to Venice. And as love stories end badly in general, those of the handsome James in particular (Tracy Bond also dies in In Her Majesty's Secret Service ), it is not far from the Bridge of Sighs that she will disappear drowned, imprisoned in the cage of an elevator.
Is it a coincidence, Casino Royale , the first spy novel by the former spy Ian Fleming will have been adapted to the screen three times. First in the form of a TV movie in 1953, then in the guise of parody in 1967 with an exceptional distribution which displayed the names of David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Orson Welles, Ursula Andress ... and even Jean-Paul Belmondo. A test stroke, a funny pastiche and finally a poker move that turns into a master stroke. Daniel Craig, openly criticized at the start for his muscular play, will have become, before Skyfall and Specter , like his prestigious predecessors, Sean Connery and Roger Moore, a spy we love.
The Orange or Canal VOD platforms allow you to view or review Casino Royale. As an appetizer Le Figaro presents, below in images, the trailer for the film.
Casino Royale by Martin Campbell, in 2006, with Daniel Craig, Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Judi Dench ...