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Top Critics (45)
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DVD (38)
Bond as a human being? Who'd'a'thunk?
Casino Royale has the answers to all my complaints about the 45-year-old James Bond series, and some I hadn't even thought of.
I hope Craig finds more moments like that in Bond. And I hope he gets to wear that tuxedo again and again and again.
I consider Daniel Craig to be the most effective and appealing of the six actors who have played 007, and that includes even Sean Connery.
This, at last, is Bond stripped bare.
There's clearly life in the old dog yet.
Casino Royale is a welcome break from the past and a strong and entertaining film in its own right, proving the continuing viability of Fleming's creation 50 years after his inception.
A Bond for our times, indeed
Every era gets the James Bond it deserves. Ours gets a Bond who's strong and forceful but also reckless and arrogant, who blunders into tricky situations in Third World countries and makes a bloody mess of things.
A strong, well defined story, some unexpected betrayals and hidden corners, sensational locations and an absence of gadgets make Casino Royale a right royal Bond movie.
Gritty and thrilling, Casino Royale has it all - action, glamour, spectacular locations and a new Bond that is above all, vulnerable.... Whether you can follow the Texas Hold 'Em poker game, it matters not.
... a tense, gripping thriller mercifully free of the baggage of the previous Bond flicks, Casino Royale takes the essentials of Ian Fleming's novel and updates them for the 21st century, seamlessly adding the requisite big screen action ...
Though the PCM is MIA, the bonus features make this worth getting.
If you sprang for the original release of Casino Royale on DVD, this edition is still worth a look.
Craig does OK in the role; no one has ever matched Sean Connery's steely insouciance, but he comes closer than most.
Strong new Bond in a darker re-imagining.
The last words onscreen read: "James Bond Will Return!" Of course he will. The difference is that for the first time in years, we actually want him back.
Gone are the clichés of recent Bond adventures - the too-clever quips, the loveless conquests, the gaudy gadgetry and the BMW-sponsored sports cars. 'Casino Royale' ambitiously explores the origins of the character's pathos, stripping him of all the
Casino Royale isn't simply the best Bond film in years. It is one of the best Bond films ever.
A great restart for the series
When you strip the 007 films down for action and "realism," you lose the soul of those old beloved Bond movies.
Takes us closer to the Bond that Fleming created. We see more vulnerable moments in him, more man than superman. And surprisingly, that makes the legend even stronger.
This is James Bond before sassy self-awareness set in, and it rattles the cages more than any number of explosions could in letting us know why he's still relevant today.
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