Casino Royale (2006)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Neal Purvis (screenplay) &
Robert Wade (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Everyone has a past. Every legend has a beginning. On November 17th, discover how James...became Bond.

Plot:

In his first mission, James Bond must stop Le Chiffre, a banker to the world's terrorist organizations, from winning a high-stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro.

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Terrorist | Montenegro | James Bond | MI6

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 25 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 4

8:00 PM

USA

Cast

Daniel Craig	...	James Bond
Eva Green	...	Vesper Lynd
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Le Chiffre
Judi Dench	...	M
Jeffrey Wright	...	Felix Leiter
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Mathis
Caterina Murino	...	Solange
Simon Abkarian	...	Alex Dimitrios
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Steven Obanno (as Isaach De Bankole)
Jesper Christensen	...	Mr. White
Ivana Milicevic	...	Valenka
Tobias Menzies	...	Villiers
Claudio Santamaria	...	Carlos
Sebastien Foucan	...	Mollaka (as Sébastien Foucan)
Malcolm Sinclair	...	Dryden

Also Known As:

Bond 21 (UK) (working title)
Bond Begins (USA) (fake working title)
Bond XXI (UK) (working title)
James Bond 007 - Casino Royale (Germany)
James Bond 21 (USA) (working title)
Casino Royale (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
007 - Cassino Royale (Brazil) [pt]
007 Casino Royale (Japan: English title) [en]
007 Kajino rowaiaru (Japan) (alternative transliteration) [ja]
007: Casino Royale (Estonia) [et]
Casino Royale (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Casino Royale (Canada: French title) [fr]
Casino Royale (Croatia) [hr]
Casino Royale (Greece) [el]
Kazino rojal (Serbia) [sr]
Prapanchaniki Okkadu (India: Telugu title) (dubbed version) [te]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany | Czech Republic

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Belgium:KT | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Spain:18 | Hong Kong:IIA | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Brazil:14 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42012) (cut version) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:12 (video rating) (cut) | UK:12A (cinema rating) (cut) | South Korea:15 | Denmark:11 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Africa:13V | France:U (with warning) | India:UA | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is only the second time that an M character's home has been shown in an official EON Productions James Bond film. The first was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The unofficial James Bond film, the comedy spoof Casino Royale (1967) also showed M's home.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Originally it is believed that in the final poker hand with all 4 players all in there's a mistake, because the total amount Bond wins is 120 million. Player 1 goes all inn with 6, Player 2 goes all inn with 5, leaving approximately 109 million. Bond goes all inn with 40.5 million which means he can only win 40.5 million from Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre would still have 120 (- 6 - 5 - 40.5 - 40.5) - 92 = 28 million left. It is claimed that the game would not be over. However, review of the actual scenes and Mathis' statement that there is 115 million in the final pot actually reveals that Bond was likely a chip leader and that someone (Felix Leiter, who staked Bond's re-buy) did not buy back in, and that the full potential of $120m would not be seen on the table. It starts with $24m in the pot (a quote from Mathis), to which Fukutu adds $6m and Ade adds $5m. The pot is now $35m. Le Chiffre adds $12m, raising the pot to $47m. A count of Bond's chips shows that he has 26 $1m blue chips, 7 20-chip stacks of $100,000 chips, and 1 $500,000 chip, making his total $40,500,000. When he goes all-in, that raises the pot to $87.5m. That means Le Chiffre needs to add $28.5m to match Bond's raise. He has 20 $1m blue chips, 13 $500,000 chips, 4 $100,000 chips in his hand, one $100,000 chip on his cards, and 5 $100,000 chips sitting away from his neater stacks, giving him $27.5m. When Le Chiffre goes all-in with $27.5m, that brings the pot to $115m, which Mathis points out.

Quotes:

[first lines]
James Bond: M really doesn't mind you earning a little money on the side, Dryden. She'd just prefer it if it wasn't selling secrets.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Becoming Bond (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You Know My Name

Excellent prequel to the series

Though it doesn't care too much about the series' continuity (it's supposed to be Bond's first mission as a 00 agent, but it takes place after the Cold war and Judi Dench is already M), "Casino Royale" is a great re-creation of the series. Cool action, great thrills and a more humane Bond more than make up for the purported lack of gadgets. Daniel Craig plays Bond as a rough secret who only gradually acquires the class and cold demeanor we all know and love. He makes mistakes in the course of his mission, but that makes him even more of a hero. Although I found it hard at first to cope with Craig's looks, he is more than suitable as the character. Bond is portrayed as a man with flaws and weaknesses, which makes him look even stronger. The story is not your usual Bond plot and relies more on classical thrills than technology, though the action is extremely hard-boiled. Kudos to the creepy Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and Eva Green as Vesper Lynd for creating remarkably believable characters. A definite must-see for Bond fans : it should reconcile at last Ian Fleming aficionados and fans of the film series !