Casino Royale is a refreshing reboot of the James Bond franchise. It introduces us to a new Bond in Daniel Craig and he brings a brutality and inherent suaveness to the role that is very appealing.
The movie follows Bond on his first assignment as 007, where he tracks down banker to the world terrorists Le Chiffre for a high stakes poker game.
Daniel Craig
The first actor to take the iconic role after Ian Fleming’s death, Daniel Craig delivers one of Bond’s finest outings. He plays the first rookie James Bond with a swagger and intensity that set him apart from previous incarnations.
The film takes the 007 franchise back to its roots, setting Bond on his first mission as a licensed-to-kill agent. The film follows the book closely, downplaying gadgetry and emphasizing character.
Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre is a truly menacing villain, but he is also fallible. He has a sinister elegance to his performance that makes him an excellent foil for Bond.
English actor Daniel Craig trained at the National Youth Theatre before making his big screen debut in 1992’s The Power of One. He has since appeared in movies like Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Layer Cake and Munich. He has returned to play Bond for five films, including Spectre, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.
Mads Mikkelsen
The Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is no stranger to the big screen, having starred in a number of Certified Fresh films, but his role as the blood-weeping Le Chiffre in Casino Royal was what really brought him to attention. The scheming villain was an essential part of Daniel Craig’s run as 007, and Mikkelsen delivered one of the most menacing performances to have ever graced the series.
The actor made his debut in Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 crime thriller film Pusher as Tonny, a bald drug dealer. He continued to star in a number of Danish dramas before he landed his breakout role as the psychotic cannibal Hannibal Lecter on NBC’s popular series.
The show ran from 2013 until 2015 and showcased Mikkelsen’s talent as a dramatic actor. Since then, the actor has branched out into bigger budget films and blockbuster franchises, including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Doctor Strange, and more. He is a natural in front of the camera and makes every scene he’s in captivating.
Eva Green
Eva Green’s performance as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale was a standout in a film that reinvented the James Bond franchise with a darker, more realistic tone. She exhibited excellent chemistry with Daniel Craig and made her character seem human and vulnerable. She has since starred in several independent films, including Womb and Perfect Sense. She also modeled for Breil, Lancome, and Emporio Armani.
Green’s acting career started in theatre. She studied at St. Paul Drama School in Paris for three years and took a 10-week course at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She later starred in the French comedy Turcaret and caught the attention of director Bernardo Bertolucci.
She was cast in his 2003 film The Dreamers, which featured full frontal nude and graphic sex scenes. She has since appeared in a variety of films and television series, including the BBC miniseries Into the Storm and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven.
Judi Dench
Judi Dench’s imposing presence as Madam M is the linchpin of this film and the entire series. While she has a tendency to over-do her role in some of the more recent Bond films, in Casino Royale she is nothing short of sublime.
This film re-boots the franchise by showing audiences how 007 started out, in a style that is both brutal and rule-breaking. Despite the gimmicks (a collapsing building in Venice is a cliche that works only because of Craig’s superb acting) and a lack of subtlety, Casino Royal is still an exciting and entertaining movie, one of the best since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Dench is a true British treasure, an actress who has earned countless accolades and awards through her stage work as well as her numerous movies and television shows. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and won two Golden Globes, in addition to her six Lawrence Olivier Awards. She is perhaps most renowned for her role as the title character of Philomena, and also appeared in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Notes on a Scandal.
