Casino Royale: 00-Heaven

Studio: Sony Pictures
Starring: Daniel Craig (Layer Cake, Tomb Raider, Munich) as James Bond 007, Dame Judy Dench (Chronicles Of Riddick, Shakespeare In Love) as M, Eva Green (Kingdom Of Heaven) as Vesper Lynd, Mads Mikkelsen (King Arthur) as Le Chiffre, Giancarlo Giannini (Man On Fire, Hannibal) as Mathis, Jeffrey Write (Syriana, Shaft) as Felix Leiter
Directed By: Martin Campbell (Golden Eye

The Story
Casino Royale [Blu-ray] sees the franchise go back to basics. Gone is Q and his gadgets, though we still have M, played beautifully by Dame Judy Dench. We see Bond (Craig) at the very beginning of his career as 007, having just achieved his mandatory two kills, shown in a fantastically violent (and uncut, if you have the Japanese import) black and white sequence. He is a raw edgy secret agent, a man who is not bulletproof.

After dispatching a bomb maker after a simply stunning foot chase involving freestyle running thru a construction site Bond is on the trail of an international terrorist network. This trail leads him to a banker by the name of Le Chiffre (Mikkelsen), a man who looks after the finances of all the top terrorists around the world. After Bond foils a plan to destroy the prototype of a flagship jet airliner, Le Chiffre has lost over 100 million dollars of his clients money, so is forced to try to recoup his money at an all-or-nothing, high-risk poker game to be held at the illustrious Casino Royale Hotel in Montenegro. Here he is helped by C.I.A. operative Felix Leiter (Wright), Police Detective Mathis (Giannini), and Treasury Officer Vesper Lynd (Green), but not everyone is who they appear to be. If Bond can win and bankrupt Le Chiffre, he will have nowhere to hide and will be forced to flee to M.I.6, and thus, supply British Secret Intelligence with vital information regarding world terrorists and their finances.

The poker game is wonderfully tense with Bond losing all at one point, almost succumbing to poisoning and close quarter fighting with an African “freedom fiighter” and his henchman. Even after losing all to Bond at the tables, Le Chiffre refuses to go down without a fight and grabs Bond after using Lynd as bait. Things start to get very painful for 007 with ball-breaking results (quite literally).

Note that this is the Japanese Import which is uncut. This torture scene is seen in all its nut-breaking entirety (also note that the black and white fight scene at the very beginning is also uncut). The death of a loved one sees Bonds emotions surfacing which is so un-007, but very welcome. Casino Royale is a welcome return to form of an old favourite, with Daniel Craig clearly relishing his role as Bond. I find his demeanor and acting style very similar to many Bond fans favourite Sean Connery. When fans heard that they were doing away with his “toys”, many die hard fans were up in arms, but after watching Casino Royale it is clear the makers and Craig hit it right on the head. I, for one, love the new gritty, realistic Bond. Well done. My score: 9/10. The movie runs for 145 minutes.

The Visuals
Casino Royale is framed at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and is a joy to behold. It is razor sharp with beautifully natural colours. The Madagascar chase scene looks fantastic with the clear blue seas and verdant green jungles looking amazing. Close up detail was excellent, as were distant shots. Visually, my favourite scene was the black and white scene set in Prague at the very beginning of the movie - the fine grain made the image look gorgeous. Night scenes are detailed. Black levels are simply stunning. A top drawer visual presentation. My score: 9.5/10.

The Audio
The uncompressed 5.1 PCM soundtrack is a real barn-stormer, make no mistake. Every channel gets a thorough workout, especially the subwoofer. Panning is spot on. The numerous explosions and gunshots sound clear and convincing. Dialog comes across loud and clear, as does the score. My score: 9/10. Note :there is also DD 5.1 soundtracks in both English and Japanese. Subtitles are available in both English and Japanese.

The Extras
This Blu-ray is not overflowing with extras, but they are worthwhile. We have Becoming Bond, which is a candid interview with star Daniel Craig. It runs for just over 27 minutes and is shown in Hi-Def. Next, we have James Bond For Real, which goes into the many stunts in the movie. This runs for just under 25 minutes and is also HD.

Then we have Bond Girls Are Forever. Former Bond Girl Maryam D’Arbo chats to other Bond Girls on their roles and how it felt to be a Bond Girl. It runs for 49 minutes and is in standard definition. There’s also the “You Know What You Are” music video by Chris Cornell. We have a collection of HD trailers for Casino Royale, Pursuit Of Happyness, Spider-Man 3, and Coming up soon on Sony Pictures Blu-ray. My score: 5/10.

Overall Impact
Casino Royale is a welcome home Bond, and it’s been worth the wait. The movie, visuals, and audio are all top rate, and there are some nice extras on board. If you want the full uncut version, try to obtain the Japanese Import. Highly recommended. My score 9/10.

Please note that Sony may be re-releasing this title to coincide with the theatrical release of the new Bond Film Quantum Of Silence. Keep your eyes peeled for an update on this.

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