Casino Royale (2006)

To the Summary!
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.

Training Log - Week of 20 AUG 12

20 AUG 12 - Review for stripe testing; BJJ, well, I can only get better.

23 AUG 12 - More review for stripe testing.  Getting better with the ground defenses; well one more than the other.  I think I am over thinking the one.  As far as sparring goes still blocking kicks with my hands.  That is not how you block.

26 AUG 12 - Training run for the relay triathalon that I am doing with Leanda and my sister Liz in a few weeks.  I'm doing to run portion, Leanda the swim and Liz the bike.  I did the 4 mile run in about 45 minutes so I think it will go well.  Leanda did great on the swim (.5 mile in about 30 minutes) and Liz wasn't able to join us to give the bike a tri (get it?), but she should have no issue doing 14 miles on the bike.

An Old Pic of Myself 3/12

Me, around 1996.  Seventh grade whale watch.

Training Log - Week of 13 AUG 12

13 AUG 12 - ABD and BJJ tonight.  Nothing too exciting.  Kicks felt off at one point.  BJJ is still a bit of a stuggle, but I will get better at it.

16 AUG 12 - ABD this morning.  Kicks felt much better.  Absolutely an area to work on.  Also: when sparring block kicks with your leg, not arms.

Casino Royale

So, back in the 50's, there was this British guy who had done some pretty awesome stuff during World War II.  What did he do with this experience?  He went on to write some of the best spy fiction there is to be read.

Ian Flemming introduced the world to James Bond, here in Casino Royale.  James Bond of the literary world is NOT the James Bond you see as portrayed by Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.  Even Sean Connery doesn't truly accomplish the translation of Bond from book to screen.  Fear not, I will not analyzing the role of each Bond actor.  Well, not here anyway.  Look for that in posts about the movies.

Ian Flemming's Casino Royale is our introduction to the world of James Bond, 007.  Bond is a cold blooded professional.  He has two kills to his credit, which is what earned him the 00-status; permission to kill for Her Majesty.  M (Bond's boss) details Bond to travel to Royale-Les-Eaux in Northern France.  There he is to play high stakes baccarat, with the goal of bankrupting Le Chiffre.  Le Chiffre is a major player for SMERSH, the Soviet anti-spy agency.  SMERSH is loosely translated to 'death to spies.'  Warm, loving group; right?

Throughout the book, we are also introduced to Bond's very particular habits.  As he states (and this is me paraphrasing) since he has little else in the world, he takes an almost perverse pleasure in food and drink.  And boy, does he.  The precision with which he orders is fascinating, and I think gives a real good look into what the 50's were like.

So, needless to say, Bond makes it to the game.  After some troubles, he is able to defeat Le Chiffre.  But, that's not the end of the story.  Le Chiffre orchestrates the kidnapping of Vesper Lynd, the finance representative from MI6, who was in control of Bond's money.  Fun fact: Bond, the cold hearted bastard, starts falling for Miss Lynd.  Bond chases after Vesper, and is caught himself.

He is then tortured by Le Chiffre.  Le Chiffre is in deep with SMERSH and REALLY wants the money Bond won from him.  Just as Bond is sinking into deep despair and acceptance of his fate, a gunman walks in and dispatches Le Chiffre.  Turns out SMERSH caught up with Le Chiffre, and Le Chiffre's time had run out.  Bond is saved because the SMERSH agent had no orders regarding Bond.

After this experience, Bond decides to quite MI6 and marry Vesper.  Too bad; so sad.  Looks like Vesper was a double agent for SMERSH!  Racked with guilt, she takes one too many sleeping pills and ends her misery.  In a letter left for James, Vesper details how her lover had been captured by SMERSH, and how they were using him as leverage to get Vesper to work for them.

Bond, understandably pissed decides to NOT retire, and communicates to MI6 that Vesper was a double, and that 'the bitch is dead.'

Not gonna lie.  That closing line is one of my favorites.  Leading up to those lines, we see a Bond who has a new, albeit personal, mission: stop SMERSH.  This will be a minor and sometimes major plot point in the following books.

I really enjoyed this first entry in the Bond literary saga.  Its well written, and at under 200 pages, moves quick.  Even the description and execution of the baccarat game is fascinating.  Clothes, cars, food and locales are described in a way that makes you feel as if you were there.  Any fan of the movies should give at least this first entry a read.  Or, if you are fans of modern thrillers check this out.  Being written in the 50s gives this an almost fresh feel after years of reading Clancy, Cussler, and the like.

James Bond returns in Live and Let Die.