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Casino Royale poster

Casino Royale

144 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Daniel Craig James Bond
Eva Green Vesper Lynd
Mads Mikkelsen Le Chiffre
Jeffrey Wright Felix Leiter
Caterina Murino Solange
Simon Abkarian Alex Dimitrios
Isaach de Bankolé Steven Obanno
Jesper Christensen Mr. White
Tobias Menzies Villiers
Richard Sammel Gettler
Ludger Pistor Mendel
Darwin Shaw Fisher
Tom Chadbon Stockbroker
Ade Infante
Tsai Chin Madame Wu
Lazar Ristovski Kaminofsky
Tom So Fukutu
Veruschka von Lehndorff Gräfin von Wallenstein
Carlos Leal Tournament Director
Christina Cole Ocean Club Receptionist
Jürgen Tarrach Schultz
John Gold Card Player
Jerry Inzerillo Card Player
Diane Hartford Card Player
Leo Stransky Tall Man
Paul Bhattacharjee Hot Room Doctor
Crispin Bonham-Carter Hot Room Doctor
Simon Cox Hot Room Technician
Rebecca Gethings Hot Room Technician
Peter Notley MI6 Technician
John Chancer Police Commander
Peter Brooke Airport Policeman
Jason Durran Airport Policeman
Robert Jezek Arresting Officer
Félicité Du Jeu French News Reporter
Michaela Ochotská Shop Assistant
Michael Offei Obanno's Lieutenant
Makhoudia Diaw Obanno's Liaison
Michael G. Wilson Chief of Police
Martina Duravolá Police Chief's Girlfriends
Marcela Martincáková Police Chief's Girlfriends
Vladimír Kulhavý Croatian General
Valentine Nonyela Nambutu Embassy Official
Dušan Pelech Bartender
Phil Meheux Treasury Bureaucrat
Alessandra Ambrosio Tennis Girl
Veronika Hladikova Tennis Girl
Regina Gabajová Hotel Splendide Clerk
Martin Učík Barman
Miroslav Šimůnek Disapproving Man
Ivan G'Vera Venice Hotel Concierge
Jirí Lenc Hotel Splendide Limo Driver
Jaroslav Jankovsky Hermitage Waiter
Richard Branson Man at Airport Security (uncredited)
Martin Campbell Airport Worker (uncredited)
Tara Cardinal Woman in Casino (uncredited)
Ben Cooke MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Simona Roman Dossier Girl (uncredited)
Greg Bennett Airport Driver, Miami (uncredited)
Alexander Hathaway British Ambassador (uncredited)

Casino Royale | The Rewatchables

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Half-Assed Internet Research

Casting; box office; title design; stunts; training; Vesper’s job; product placement; Chinese release; cars; bloody tears

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:28Read transcript
  • Brosnan reportedly sought $30 million for another Bond before the producers moved to Craig while Brosnan was 53.
  • Casino Royale was the first Fleming novel, dated 1953 in the discussion, but its rights were historically separate from the main Bond producers.
  • An earlier television adaptation and 1967 parody are recalled; the latter had David Niven as Bond, Sellers, Allen and multiple directors.
  • MGM reportedly obtained Casino Royale rights from Sony in a trade involving Spider-Man rights.
  • Haggis reportedly wrote roughly the final thirty minutes after the earlier screenplay work.
  • The stated budget is$150 million and gross$650 million.
  • The actress playing Madame Wu reportedly also appeared in You Only Live Twice.
  • The opening graphic design reportedly drew on the 1953 novel cover and its blood-dripping hearts.
  • The Aston Martin reportedly rolled seven times for a Guinness stunt record.
  • The collapsing Venetian house used a 90-ton tank rig described as the largest built for Bond.
  • Craig reportedly added 20 pounds of muscle through diet and training.
  • Vesper’s formal job is stated as international liaison officer for the Treasury’s Financial Action Task Force.
  • The Ford Mondeo deal reportedly cost£14 million; Sony electronics and the rental-car-to-Aston upgrade are noted.
  • A Chinese-cinema dubbed release reportedly added dialogue explaining Texas Hold’em; the discussion makes an overly broad first-film claim without establishing its scope.
  • Three Aston Martins costing$300,000 each were reportedly destroyed.
  • Bloody tears are identified as haemolacria, with possible medical causes discussed as podcast research.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:20Read transcript
  • Ebert gave four stars, praising Craig as a hard, wounded man who still cares and the film’s emotional depth.

Picking Nits

Poker realism; exposition; mechanics of the villain plan; poisoning recovery; Vesper’s motives

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:24Read transcript
  • Dimitrios’s all-in kings play with an ace on the board is considered obviously foolish against Bond’s checking.
  • The unusually frequent high-card hands are questioned, then defended as a selection of the best moments from hours of play.
  • Nearly killing someone as a way to recover money is questioned as a poor strategy for the terrorists.
  • Bond’s kings-full hand losing to four jacks is an extraordinarily rare collision, while Le Chiffre’s passive play before the final card is criticized.
  • Le Chiffre staying in a four-player pot with two pair against likely flushes is criticized as reckless before the final ace improves him.
  • The extraordinary collision of premium hands feels contrived, compared with The Cincinnati Kid.
  • Bond’s passive play after completing the straight flush is questioned, then defended as ideal slow-playing from the button.
  • The cards are not shown long enough to follow the climactic hand clearly in a theater.
  • Le Chiffre’s obvious tell is too basic for a wealthy experienced gambler; Rounders’ Oreo tell is compared, while accessibility for nonplayers is the defense.
  • Felix Leiter staking Bond feels abrupt and insufficiently paid off.
  • Vesper obtaining an exactly tailored tuxedo merely by looking at Bond is implausible.
  • Using Vesper as road bait risks killing someone the villains need for the account, making the ambush illogical.
  • Recovery from poisoning seems too quick; intelligence-service antidotes are offered as a defense.
  • Vesper’s refusal to fund another buy-in is questioned because both saving Bond and helping the villains could motivate it.
  • Other players could defeat Le Chiffre even if Bond withdraws; intelligence agencies staking their plan on winning poker seems unreliable.
  • Using Vesper as road bait risks killing someone still needed for the Swiss banker.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Mathis and Vesper’s roles; Bond’s winnings; poker qualification; running

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:46Read transcript
  • Whether Mathis, Vesper or an intermediary disclosed Bond’s discovery of the tell remains ambiguous.
  • Bond receiving a percentage of the recovered money is debated against serving Queen and country, with a bonus and collective-bargaining joke.
  • How MI 6 established Bond as its best poker player inspires a qualifying-tournament spinoff idea.
  • Cruise is preferred as a runner, but Craig’s muscular proportions make his running effective; conflicting height guesses remain unresolved.

Casting What-Ifs

Tarantino directing; Cavill as Bond; Wilde as Vesper

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:48Read transcript
  • Tarantino wanted a 1960s Casino Royale with Brosnan and reportedly pursued the Fleming family before discovering the main producers had obtained the rights.
  • Cavill reportedly tested well but was rejected at 22 as too young.
  • Wilde and Green were reportedly the final Vesper contenders.

Recasting Couch

Riley; White; Hill; Bisset; former Bond performers at the poker table

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:15Read transcript
  • Pat Riley is proposed as a recognizable poker-table cameo playing a character.
  • Jack White is proposed as a recognizable poker-table cameo playing a character.
  • Lauryn Hill is proposed as a recognizable poker-table cameo playing a character.
  • The cameo table risks becoming overly American.
  • Jacqueline Bisset is an additional table candidate.
  • A table of former Bond women, other franchise performers or former Bonds is proposed.

Producer review

Bond’s coolness and playful tone; Mission: Impossible preference in response

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:44:44Read transcript
  • Bond’s coolness and playful genre tone are preferred to the seriousness of Mission: Impossible and Bourne.
  • The producer compares Bond’s self-aware tone favorably with John Wick. A later mixed-speaker response preferring Mission: Impossible is retained as discussion, not exclusively attributed to the producer.