James Bond: Love Is All You Need

In which our author has the privilege of watching the best Bond, Daniel Craig, and the best villain, Mads Mikkelsen in Casino Royale.

I am not a huge James Bond fan. Sure, I am familiar with the franchise, the brand of Bond. My dad had all of the Ian Fleming novels and watching the latest Bond flick on TV was mandatory in my household.

So I was very dubious in going to see the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale, directed by Martin Campbell. Daniel Craig is the amazing new incarnation of James Bond who seems to prefer to kill people with his bare hands rather than just shooting them.

The film opens with perhaps one of the greatest and most suspenseful foot race scenes in the history of the cinema. Who needs a car chase? Bond and the man he chases climb, dive, flip, and scramble through a high-rise construction site like a couple of Spidermen. And don't worry, there will be a car chase scene or two later on in the film featuring expensive cars.

While Bond movies are known for the beautiful women they feature, the true physical attraction is Daniel Craig himself. He has intense blue eyes, sandy-blond hair, and a well-chiseled physique that clearly upstages even the alluring Eva Green, his love object. Craig is easy on the eyes whether dressed to the nines in a tux or tied naked to a chair in a torture scene.

The other star of this film is the wonderfully evil Le Chiffre played to perfection by Mads Mikkelsen. This archetype villain steals the show with his weasely, scarred face that comes equipped with a blind eye that cries tears of blood. This guy gets my vote for best villain since the evil Doctor Loveless of the TV show Wild, Wild West fame.

The film also ties in the popular theme of poker in a delightful way, from the cool, animated opening credits to the multi-million dollar poker game that is highlighted in the film.

There is some sort of loose plot that involves shuffling electronic funds to either support or bankrupt terrorists. This may be the main story line but, perhaps this Bond film can be distinguished from other Bond films with it's theme of love, not espionage. The Casino Royale Bond character is a brutal killer with a heart of gold, focused on saving his love not his career. What's not to love?