In retrospect, now that No Time to Die-his final chapter as Bond-is out the door, one can say with certainty that Casino Royale is the best Bond film of Craig’s era.īut that said, Casino Royale is full of explosive, memorable action sequences, opening with a black-and-white bathroom brawl between Bond and a henchman whom Bond suffocates in a sink. Darkly romantic, gritty, and packed with talented supporting players, the 2006 film was a hard refresh for the franchise, introducing Craig in supreme style. And it’s one of many reasons Casino Royale, directed by Martin Campbell (of GoldenEye) works so brilliantly.

It’s a forceful little scene, witty and smoky, charged with Green and Craig’s natural chemistry. In walks Vesper Lynd ( Eva Green), who sits down and declares, “I’m the money.” Bond then engages her in haughty flirtation, in which they spar about the ridiculousness of his poker plan and guess precisely why each thinks the other is an orphan. It takes place on a train, in a dining car, at a table where Bond is preparing to meet the accountant in charge of wiring him millions of dollars for a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro. The best scene in the history of Daniel Craig’s soon-to-be retired James Bond era has no action, no guns, no martinis shaken nor stirred.

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