Bond here is a troublemaker- he does things out in the open, with no care about being discovered. In fact, I don’t know if he can even be considered a spy. He seems to do very little of the whole “hiding in the shadows and waiting for your enemy” thing and a whole lot of the “punching and shooting” thing. He uses his real name. He doesn’t listen to his boss. He goes around having sex with the baddie’s wife. But it doesn’t matter, because he is simply the best Britain can offer. He is brutal, he is broody and he is blonde (apparently some people didn’t like that back in 2006).
Now, we're in a new millenium and attitudes towards women have changed (ha!), so Bond can no longer be a massive flirt who has every woman falling at his feet. He is still doing his thing, but it is much more subdued than in previous installments. Eva Green is Vesper, the ‘Bond Girl’ and she is amazing paired with Daniel Craig. She sizes Bond up the moment she sees him, and for once, he is outsmarted. They fall in love even, and you want things to go well for them, however, you realize that there is still half an hour left of movie, and there’s no way they are just going to be happy until the credits roll up.
Le Chiffre, the main bad guy, has all you could ask for in a villain. He is a poker master, a terrorist-funder and most importantly, a guy who cries blood ‘for no sinister reason’. He starts the film calm and collected, a gentleman sure of his abilities at the poker table; but as the story progresses, he realizes he is going to lose and starts playing dirty. His evil mastermind façade slowly slips down to reveal a man terrified for his life, a coward desperately trying to regain the only thing which makes him powerful. He is as cruel as he is weak.
All in all, Casino Royale is an amazing film. It has thrilling action sequences, some great lines of dialogue, and a James Bond that feels exactly like he should: a man with a past.