Newly bestowed with 00-status, James Bond goes after Le Chiffre, banker to the worlds terrorists and general bad guys.
To the Cast!
Daniel Craig - James Bond
Eva Green - Vesper Lynd
Mads Mikkelsen - Le Chiffre
Judi Dench - M
Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter
Giancarlo Giannini - Rene Mathis
Jesper Christensen - Mr. White
To the Deeper Thoughts!
We all know that Daniel Craig is not the first the wear the mantle of 007. But, in my humble opinion, he is by far the best. By what do I make this bold statement? Having read the book (my review of which can be found here); I found Daniel Craig to be the closest interpretation of the literary Bond.
So here we have James Bond, newly bestowed with 00 status, and he stumbles onto the trail of Le Chiffre, a financier to the worlds bad guys. After nearly causing an international incident in Madagascar, Bond shares some information with M (in a particularly gutsy manner), and heads to the Bahamas. Learning that Le Chriffe plans on making some serious cash by blowing up a plane, Bond rushes off to Miami. Crisis averted, M gives Bond the official ok to head off to Montenegro to play Le Chriffe in a high stakes Texas Hold-Em game. Along the way, he meets up with Vesper Lynd, the MI6 agent who is in charge of the money.
The players are in place, the scene is set. Lets get with the poker! Folds! Raises! Blinds! The action of Texas Hold-Em moves the plot forward, right up to the point where Bond loses!
What, you thought he was going to win right off the bat?
Understandably upset, Bond tries to get Vesper to release the funds required to buy back into the game. She refuses. But wait! Here come the American's to save the day! Felix Leiter, knowing that he has zero chance of winning, loans Bond the CIA's emergency fund. Re-energized (and after a fight and almost getting poisoned), Bond wins it all.
This pisses off Le Chriffe. Engineering the kidnapping of Vesper, Le Chriffe draws Bond into the middle of nowhere... and... well, Bond does not have a good experience, though he laughs through it all. A Mr. White shows up and indirectly saves Bond by killing Le Chriffe.
While relaxing and preparing for his new life post MI-6 with Vesper, Bond gets word from M that the money he won has not made it to the accounts. Um, what?
Well, this does not go over well with Bond. Turns out Vesper was being played by some mysterious people. Racked with guilt, she traps herself in a sinking elevator. Bond gets the money back along with a new mission... find the people behind this.
This is probably my favorite of the Bond movies. It strips away a lot of the fun gadgetry of the previous films and brings a grittier edge to the series. This follows VERY closely to the book also, which is nice. Craig plays an excellent Bond. If you have never seen a Bond film, this is a great one to start with.
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