CASINO ROYALE (2006) // James Bond Review and Whisky Pairing
"Casino Royale" Plot
Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a banker to terrorists, misuses funds playing the stock market and sets up a high stakes poker game to win his client's money back.
Whiskey Lore Review
What an entrance for Daniel Craig as James Bond. Casino Royale is my all-time favorite movie - not just James Bond films - all films!
The black and white opening in Prague at the Danube House is absolutely picture perfect. We know now what kind of Bond we're going to get - a man willing to do what it takes, including coldly using his well earned license to kill.
The movie follows the book pretty faithfully, but the book is short, the whole first hour up through the Bahamas is pretty much new story line. All of it works seamlessly. What I love is that, regardless of the PC police, they kept in the torture scene with Bond naked in the chair and the line the book ends on..."the job is done, the bitch is dead."
Another thing I absolutely love about this movie is how it revolves around card playing. Chemin de fer (Bacarrat) is the game he plays in the book, but Poker works great in the movie. It adds great drama.
The locations, I mean c'mon. Most of this movie was shot around the Czech Republic, with a lot of it taking place in Karlovy Vary at the Grandhotel Pupp and nearby museum. That town is stunning and I highly recommend a visit. A lot of scenes take place around Prague, including the Miami scenes (believe it or not). Then we add the Bahamas, Venice, and those amazing shots of Lake Como (on the balcony where Anakan Skywalker marries Padme).
The interplay between Vesper and Bond is fantastic. Vesper: "How's your veal." Bond "Skeward. One sympathizes." One can clearly see why she became an obsession for Bond. Truly an equal but not easy to catch. They kinda went overboard on the makeup though, for my taste. She's a natural beauty and doesn't need all of that enhancement.
The car, again c'mon. I love both Astons, but the DBS V12 would be mine hands down, if I could afford it, and if I could fit into it!
I love how they wait until the end to have those famous words ring out "Bond, James Bond."
Best of the movie: A whole lot! Here are all the categories I gave 10 out of 10 for: the opening scene, the music, Craig's performance, the supporting cast, the story line, the locations, the coolness of the cool scenes, the style, the humor, and the car.
Memorable moment: Bond invents a drink that is to become the Vesper and everyone wants one, to the annoyance of Le Chiffre.
Where it goes wrong: As with many Bond movies, the final drama sometimes goes on a bit too long. The collapsing building in Venice is a scene that could be a little tighter, but that is a minor complaint.
Paired Whisky: Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Whisky
Smoky and down to earth, this is my favorite whisky in the world. I couldn't imagine drinking anything other than this or a Vesper martini while watching this film!
Whiskey Lore Rank: #1 (Score 9.18) > Next Movie
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Go Back: 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
MUSIC (10): I don't know who chose Chris Cornell but it was an inspired choice. It showed the energy the movie would have throughout. David Arnold doesn't get enough credit for his scores either. The playing card titles and blood were awesome.
Best.Movie.Ever. in my opinion. What do you think?