Film Review of
Casino Royale
Director:
Martin Campbell (2006)
Distributor:
Sony Pictures
Certificate: 12A
Reviewed by Andrew Wooding
Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware
of some of the content of the film.
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Main Characters:
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Just like the Doctor regenerating every few years in Doctor Who, it's always an event when a new actor steps into the shoes of James Bond in the long-running film franchise. I confess that I was one of the many sceptics when Daniel Craig was announced for the role. I also confess that even though I have been a lifelong fan of Bond (I have fond childhood memories of Sean Connery repeats on television and the latest Roger Moore instalments at my local Odeon), my interest faded in recent years, to the extent that I still haven’t seen the last two Pierce Brosnan movies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
But you have to see how a new actor copies with James Bond, don't you? So, not expecting too much, I trundled down to my cinema last week and was immediately taken with this daring, gritty and emotional take on the character of Bond. Is this a new take, or a return to author Ian Fleming's original vision? The last time the debut Bond novel, Casino Royale, reached the screen, it was a humourless '60s spy spoof, wasting the talents of David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen, amongst others. Now, thankfully, the novel has been filmed properly, albeit transferred from the mid-20th century to the present day.
This is what's known as an origin story. We find out how Bond became a double agent, how he ended up with an Aston Martin and his distinctive dinner jacket, how he developed a taste for his famous drink, and how he first met his American friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter. We also hear the famous catchphrase uttered for the very first time. More importantly, we find out how Bond became a cold-blooded, dispassionate killing machine for the British government – and this seems to be the main plot of the film: fleshing out a two-dimensional character into a full-blooded three-dimensional anti-hero. Well ... maybe two-and-a-half dimensions, but it’s still an improvement.
Daniel Craig has completely won me over and I can’t wait for the next film, especially as the sudden (but entirely appropriate) ending left me wanting more. This 42-year-old Bond fan recommends this film thoroughly and will be buying it on DVD as soon as it is released. Just a word of caution: the two teenagers I saw it with weren't quite so impressed. When I quizzed them afterwards, it seemed they wanted it to contain the typical Bond mix of escapism, dazzling setpieces involving nuclear submarines or laser-firing satellites, and lots of camp humour. Not much of that here. (Maybe they should have rented an Austin Powers movie instead.) Casino Royale is a very human story that – between the many action scenes - looks into the soul of the main character. Roll on Daniel Craig's next outing as Bond.
Through the lens of Christian Faith
Some key themes: What turns a person into a cold-hearted killer? Can people really change for the better?
"Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was good. On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. And some religious people buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. Saul was also trying to destroy the church, going from house to house, dragging out men and women and putting them in jail" (Acts 8 v 1-3).
In Casino Royale, we discover that James Bond is an orphan. The implication is that he grew up without knowing the love of his parents. We also see that, surprisingly, he is capable of true love rather than just the casual sex we have known him for. He falls head over heels for a fellow orphan who is his equal intellectually. Bond has grown up bitter and dispassionate, able to kill as a double agent without any qualms or attacks of conscience. Yet he opens up his heart to Vesper Lynd, and is even prepared to resign his double agent status so that he can spend the rest of his life with her.
Opening up your heart to someone is always a risky proposition, especially if you have spent the whole of your life keeping it firmly closed. In Bond's case, his risk-taking backfires and Vesper Lynd betrays him ... or does she? Bond's heart is shut tighter than it ever was before.
Life deals everyone cruel blows, whether we are Christian or otherwise. It is just a fact of life. Jesus said that God " causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong " (Matthew 5 v 45). No one is exempt. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people ... and vice versa. The question is, how do we respond to those blows? Do we become bitter and twisted and vengeful, or do we try to live in love, grace and forgiveness?
One of the most famous writers in the New Testament is Paul the Apostle. And yet Paul (known as Saul in his pre-Christian days) watched while the young Christian Stephen was stoned painfully to death. Saul/Paul pronounced that this cruel execution was a good thing. He also took an active part in dragging innocent people out of their homes and into jail, many of them ending up dead for the simple reason that they had become followers of Christ.
If I had lived as a Christian in those times, I probably would have lived in fear of Saul. And if any of my loved ones had died as a result of his fervour, I admit that I probably would have found it very hard to forgive him. I might even have questioned the fact that he could be forgiven, after all that he had done.
Yet God grabbed hold of him, the self-confessed worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1 v 15-16), and turned his life completely upside-down so that rather than destroying the church, he planted thriving new ones all over the place and wrote some of the most read books in the Bible. God even changed his name to Paul to show that he now had a new life.
I know James Bond is a fictional character, but if he was real, could God reach into that hard heart and soften it - despite all that he had done - just as God did with Saul/Paul? Could Bond have reacted differently to the blows that life had dealt him?
As the catchphrase goes, "My name is Bond ... James Bond." What does that name stand for? Ruthless. Killer. Sexist. Hard-hearted. What a shame.
God gave Saul a new name. I believe he could give James Bond a new name as well, and a new life ... but then we wouldn't have that famous catchphrase!
Discussion questions . . .
- Who's your favourite James Bond, and why? Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig?
- Do you like the direction the James Bond series has now taken, or would you prefer a return to the fantastical, escapist feel to the series?
- Imagine for a moment that James Bond really exists. Can he be forgiven, even though he has killed countless hundreds of people? Does God see into his heart and understand where he is coming from? Would you even want him to be forgiven?
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