As it stands, Daniel Craig has played James Bond in four movies, with a fifth and supposedly final installment on the way. (Actually, it was supposed to have already been released, but then coronavirus happened.) Out of those four, two were critically acclaimed and two were critically panned, so the actor has a 50% success rate.
Arguably, Craig’s best movie in the role of 007 is still his debut, Casino Royale, which served as a gritty origin story in the vein of Batman Begins, adapting Ian Fleming’s first ever Bond novel to reboot the franchise following Austin Powers’ spot-on lampooning of the campy early installments.
It Had A Refreshingly Dark Tone
After the Austin Powers franchise turned the campy, gadget-driven Bond franchise into a laughingstock, the producers knew they needed to shake things up. So, they hired Martin Campbell to direct Casino Royale as a gritty reboot in the mold of Batman Begins.
With graphic violence pushing the boundaries of the franchise’s standard PG-13 rating and plot points ranging from political corruption to torture, Casino Royale has a refreshingly dark tone. It successfully gave the Bond franchise a shot in the arm and revitalized interest in the 007 character.
The Opening Sequence Is Breathtaking
The opening sequence from Casino Royale is mainly known for its use of parkour, but it’s also a masterclass in developing character through action. Everything Bond does in this scene sets up Daniel Craig’s young, hotshot, inexperienced version of the character.
While the CGI seams can be seen in a lot of Craig’s action sequences, from the helicopter shootout in Skyfall to the explosive finale in Quantum of Solace, the breathtaking Madagascar-set opening of Casino Royale feels all too real.
Craig Brought Real Edge To Bond
Although he’s since lost interest in the character, which has affected the way he plays him, Daniel Craig’s stint as 007 got off to a fantastic start in Casino Royale. He brought a real Dalton-esque edge to the role. No longer was Bond a perfect male-fantasy specimen; he was imperfect, which made him feel human.
Craig was criticized for not fitting Ian Fleming’s physical description of Bond as tall, dark, and handsome (at least Craig is one of those things), but he made up for it by capturing Bond’s suave personality.
Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre Is One Of The All-Time Greatest Bond Villains
Daniel Craig’s Bond doesn’t have a great track record with villains, one of the cornerstones of the Bond franchise. Quantum of Solace’s generic baddie Dominic Greene was instantly forgettable, Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva from Skyfall was well-acted but his plan was complete nonsense, and Christoph Waltz was wasted in the role of Blofeld in Spectre.
But Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre, played by the great Mads Mikkelsen, stands among the all-time best Bond villains. Mikkelsen’s icy stare tells us everything we need to know about the character, while he has a genuinely sinister presence in the torture scene.
Bond Does Actual Spy Work
A lot of filmmakers who take on a Bond film aren’t interested in making a spy movie. They want to make an action movie and Bond’s job is just an excuse to get from action sequence to action sequence.
In Casino Royale, Bond does some actual spy work. He investigates a crime syndicate with international business interests and infiltrates a high-stakes poker game to get close to its top brass.
It Stripped Away The Silliness
Between the Connery era and the Brosnan era — with a brief stop-off into delightfully dark territory in the Dalton era — the Bond movies got progressively sillier. In Brosnan’s last movie, the one right before Casino Royale, he surfs on a tidal wave.
Daniel Craig’s debut in Casino Royale stripped away that silliness and focused on the bare bones of a riveting spy narrative. It’s just a shame that the Craig era didn’t keep this up and Sam Mendes reintroduced the silliness.
The Plot Makes Sense
In any movie, the plot making sense shouldn’t be such a tall order. Being able to understand the basic story is one of the prerequisites for a movie. But the Bond franchise often falls short on this front. Bond movies are usually ripe for fridge-logic analysis.
The plot of Casino Royale, following the shady dealings of Mr. White and how his actions affect the characters and the events of the story, actually makes sense.
The Fight Scenes Are Visceral
While the car chases and explosions in Bond movies have always been exciting and top-notch in their execution, the fight scenes have sometimes disappointed.
Daniel Craig’s Bond was introduced in a post-Bourne era, with much more visceral fight choreography, and Craig threw himself right into it.
The Bond Girl Isn’t Just A One-Dimensional Sex Object
Of all the age-old traditions of the Bond franchise, the “Bond girl” is the most outdated. In each movie, Bond falls for a sex object who automatically falls for him, too, even if he’s played by a late-50s Roger Moore. Bond girls are rarely developed into three-dimensional characters, but in Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd is well-rounded.
Eva Green has the icy stare and challenging banter of a femme fatale, and she shares tangible chemistry with Daniel Craig as their characters are brought together by shared pain. The relationship feels real and ultimately ends in tragedy.
It’s A Satisfying 007 Origin Story
James Bond didn’t necessarily need an origin story, but it was a strong way to reboot the franchise. The gritty black-and-white opening arrives like a speeding bullet as Bond earns his 00 status, then spends the rest of the movie adjusting to his new job title.
Ultimately, Casino Royale is a satisfying origin story for 007. Instead of showing us where he got all his knick-knacks, like Han Solo’s origin story in Disney’s disappointing spin-off, Casino Royale shows us how he became the man he was in the 20 previous movies.