It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Brady, we don't argue, we discuss ;)
But please, I didn't get cut up about the line, I merely made a point in my write up, and it was vigorously challenged. So we discussed it. All done now.
Martin Campbell excels here. It's a long Bond film but he keeps the whole thing together giving it vibrancy and urgency. It's as if everyone was on their game, appreciating the importance of getting this film right.
Scenes that aren't strictly action scenes feel urgent and exciting, such as the poisoning of the cocktail and the torture scene.
Campbell was worried the card game would slow the film down, but it doesn't. It's just as thrilling as the rest of the film.
The last 20 minutes, after Le Chiffre dies, if anything, feels slightly disjointed and the film loses impetus, (even though this part of the story has to be told, and can't be left aside). Vesper suddenly loves Bond and he loves her, even though right up to the last moments of the game she was hacked off with Bond and his 'ego' and he was calling her a 'bloody idiot'. Even at dinner she still fingered her Algerian love knot.
Maybe they were denying their true feelings, and with Le Chiffre dead they could explore them more.
Over the years, Bond fans apart, the public have based their appreciation and understanding of Bond films on those individual iconic moments that have defined the series.
They see Ursula Andress in a bikini and they know it's Bond. Apart from that most of those moments can be found in Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me.
But they keep the series in the public conscience.
Strangely those moments disappeared as other franchises came on the scene, and we began to see iconic imagery from Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Bond took a back seat.
Then, Daniel Craig put his speedos on and we were back. Bond was relevant once more. All of a sudden women wanted to go see a Bond film again.
In fact the whole scene with Solange on the white horse, the children running after her, culminating in Bond emerging from the sea is a scene of luxurious splendour. It captures the whole feel of Casino Royale and catapults the film forward.
Bond was back.
The opening titles are simply superb. Artistically it can only be Bond; the colour and design feels like it came from the swinging 60s. The song by Chris Cornell is a thumping rock track but melodically it works a treat. The last shot of Craig approaching the camera makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. Thrilling.
The film is shot in luxurious vibrant colours, much like On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The cinematography is sublime right down to the way it captures the blue of Daniel Craig's eyes.
The costumes are thought out in miniscule detail. The designer has said that even Dimitrios's clothes reflect his nouveau riche status by being expensive but poorly put together.
The girls look utterly glamorous, and breath- takingly beautiful in their shimmering evening gowns. Craig looks good in everything.
David Arnold works a fine score into the film, driving it along when need be, offering beautiful simple melody when required (Vesper's theme). Something lost in later Craig films.
The whole package looks amazing. The attention to detail is exceptional.
I mentioned the beach scene, but Campbell came close on more than one occasion to define his movie by individual images. The shot of Vesper pushing away from Bond to die in the cage, her hair spiralling up, her face a mask of regret, is astonishing.
Bond tied to a chair naked, being tortured by Le Chiffre is chilling. However my only issue with this scene is the fact (as all men know) the first whack would probably have caused him to vomit and pass out. After that, the fact he could draw breath to even speak is hard to accept.
A splendid re-invention of the franchise. Artistically a triumph, and Barbara Broccoli must have felt incredibly smug that her gamble on Craig paid off, and a lot of critics wound up with egg on their faces.
- During the PTS I think the editing team should've kept the scenes showing Bond looking for Fisher during a cricket match. It gives us a better idea of what Bond was doing and where exactly this was. We see Bond watching him from a distance and then walking into the bathroom. The rest is history.
- Those large brick phones are very dated and it's such a shame that the narrative relies so heavily on them. (Of course, they couldn't know about future smartphone tech.)
- After Bond damages the car at the hotel, why didn't anyone find out who did it using CCTV cameras. Bond even looks at the live camera and it shows the car. Surely the security would catch him because he's at the hotel. The writers simply could've made Bond break the DVD it was recorded to. But he never did.
- Afterwards when Bond looks at the CCTV footage, he pauses exactly when the text was made. It showed up to one hundredth of a second! C'mon!
- Solange. I don't like her much. If there is one actor I would recast in this film, it would be her. She only looked good during the initial beach scene which gets overshadowed by that awful dress she later wears. And who cares if her character is named from Fleming? That doesn't make her automatically amazing. In addition, her acting is arguably quite bad. Especially next to Mrs. Green's.
- Why doesn't Le Chiffre take money deep out of Quantum and pay back the Ugandan mercenaries, instead of trying to win a high-stakes poker game? I'm sure paying them off first and then trying to win a poker game is better, no? Quantum wouldn't realise since he can take 10m off 10 other crime lords who still trust him. They wouldn't notice yet and he'd have time to pay it back before they find out. Also, when Le Chiffre does lose, why not tell Vesper she should put it on their bank account (like they finally do)? The writers could've easily made this part of the film a little better.
- I think I've already mentioned on another thread but the film's finale isn't as good as the book's ending. Having said that, it is a very very good scene and it fits into the film rather nicely. Remember, this is a JB film and they need an action set piece to finish the film, so it had to be done. (It's filmed and editing perfectly imo and the set that they build should've gotten more praise because they didn't really use any green screen inside. They went the hard route with a rotating house on hydraulics and sh*t flying everywhere. Nice underwater effort -with principal cast- too.)
Well the first page mentioned the "plot plausibility" as something we could discuss.
The brick phones you mention, I hope they will have a sort of quaint retro appeal in time, like the phone in Bond's car in From Russia With Love. Time will tell
The minute Le Chiffre thinks the Skyfleet job is a good idea, he seals his fate and ensures that Quantum will kill him even if he wins. He has no loyalty or good sense, and can't be trust with other peoples' money...and he's a banker! I think that's Vesper's function. She moves how the wind blows. If Le Chiffre is winning, Quantum will take care of him at a later date, kill him and take back the money, and Vesper can help that by not helping Bond in ways that don't seem suspicious (like not staking him the 5 million). If Vesper can't stop Bond from winning, her job then turns into getting the password out of them, as the organization will provide her with the right account code (which is the deal made on the barge).
Le Chiffre was never going to leave Montenegro alive. Even if he won, he lost. Clearly he didn't realize that one of the things you can't buy is a good reputation.
Some very good points there!
Doesn't Le Chiffre say something like; "even once I've slaughtered you and your little girlfriend, your people would still welcome me with open arms." So why would Le Chiffre need to bargain with Bond, when he doesn't have to?
If Le Chiffre gets the money, he seriously thinks he'll be forgiven, but if he's taken in by MI6 he'll compromise himself and make it clear to Quantum that he is talking, inviting his death. They would find him, or pay someone close to him to do it. There was just no way he was going to live.
The bigger question is where the hell was the CIA? Bond says to Felix that Le Chiffre is all his, then the Americans do nothing.
Le Chiffre is desperate to stay alive at this point and he'd much rather leave Quantum because he knows Mr. White might kill him, and because the mercenaries are already after him!
If Le Chiffre did get the code, he'd first kill Bond and then I think he'd turn himself in, after paying the money back anyway. He knew how much loyalty cost to Mr. White.
It's hard to say if Vesper is working with Quantum from the moment she and Bond meet on the train, as she's quite cheery for a woman put in such a bad position, but by the time Obanno is dead and she's having a fit in the shower, there's a hint that she is dealing with the guilt of being compromised, just masked as PTSD from watching Bond kill two men. She's having a hard time doing what she's doing, and doesn't hide it well. Her pain and guilt come off to Bond as natural trauma experienced by novices in the field, and so he misses the hints of a betrayal entirely. It also doesn't help that he clearly fancies her and is blinded by his affection.
I'm of the view, after thinking about this to brain burst, that White told Vesper to make sure Bond didn't win from the start. White lets Le Chiffre go through with the game so that White can steal the money from him and can at least have something to show to Obanno to try and save their negotiation from going under. White was the one who made the meeting between Le Chiffre and Obanno possible in the first place, so he didn't want to seem unprofessional or bear the brunt of punishment for introducing the warlord to a man who then stole all his money under the pretense of being a banker; it doesn't make Quantum as an affiliate look good. White certainly doesn't want MI6 to get the money, as he'd have to exert even more energy and risk to get it back, and Obanno would all the while be threatening him if the failed Skyfleet plan was known to him. By using Vesper to put a wrench in Bond's plan, White then ensures that Le Chiffre has a good chance of winning, with no real competition outside of the 00. After Le Chiffre wins White could then track him down, kill him and bring Obanno the money with ease, making it clear to the warlord that he took care of the greedy bastard who betrayed both of their trusts.
If Vesper is unable to stop Bond from winning, White knows he's in big trouble and when he comes to the barge he's stern and angry that the woman failed her orders. He likely promised to kill Yusef for Vesper's failure right then and there, but she made a deal with him in a weak moment, promising that if she just gave him a little time she could get the password out of Bond, and would get them the money at any location they deemed worthy through the account number. White agrees, and while Bond is recovering in Italy Vesper is contacted and told to meet Quantum representatives in nearby Venice under the guise that she is taking Bond on holiday from work. Vesper knows who she is dealing with, and that her use after the money is passed over is gone. She's a loose end that needs to be tied off, and would be killed so that Bond would never find out the truth of the organization that'd controlled her the entire time to ensure their continued invisibility. What White doesn't know, however, is that Vesper has left breadcrumbs for Bond to follow after her death, setting him off on a major lead that brings him to White on the steps. White tried to account for everything, but never imagined that a woman whose boyfriend was being threatened would end up falling madly in love with her target instead.
I think this all largely checks out, and we can see proof of it in the film. For first time viewers, Vesper's refusal to play the game with Bond looks like a sassy woman being sassy to an equally sassy and playful man, but if you look at Vesper as a tool of Quantum on a second watch, her refusal to seduce the other players at the table properly or to sponsor him after he's been cleaned of chips take on a whole new meaning. Vesper uses her tumultuous dynamic with Bond to credibly mask how compromised she is, and tells him she won't give him the money because she doesn't agree with his ego, when she really just wants Le Chiffre to have a clear win, as White ordered. Her orders to stop Bond sometimes conflict with her good heart and care for him, however, like when she helps Bond stop Obanno from shooting a gun in the stairwell and how she saves Bond by bringing him back to life following the poisoning.
After the barge, Vesper is at least partly seducing and buttering Bond up during his recovery when she mentions being reborn in his eyes, but her act turns to true pain and sadness when she finds out that Bond really loves her, evidenced by her name being the password he chose to guard the money. Vesper definitely likes Bond, and her care for him that has grown over the mission is at least partially genuine in her seduction of him, making it very easy for her to act like she loves him on orders of Quantum. Because she already basically does. She then feels horrible, because she's using her real feelings for a man to bait him, which is worse than if she didn't love Bond and just acted like she loved him. Her own heart and feelings are getting all wrapped up in the works, like ham being jammed through a meat grinder.
I think in Venice Vesper is biding time, giving herself some last quiet days before she knows she must walk to her death with the money. She makes love with Bond, sails with him, goes touristing around Venice, trying to feel truly happy one last time with a man she'd come to really like. He seems to have replaced Yusef in her mind, or she's at the very least conflicted about how much she adores Bond and is excited and secured by him. Her care for him is clear, as she gives him posthumous directions to get White, and her final moment with Bond as she drowns is one of love and worry, telling him to get out of there and leave her behind.
This all sets up QoS beautifully, as Bond won't know the truth behind what Vesper did until the end of the next film. At the end of CR he can only see that a woman he really fell for used him again and again, unraveling all his efforts on his mission in the process and ruining any chance he had of trusting someone that much again. It's only until he learns about Yusef's own lies, and how Vesper was as much of a tool and victim as he was in the entire episode that Bond is finally able to see forgiveness.
Thoughts?
I agree with the statement in bold completely. I think she was in on it from the train sequence. In fact, I even think that she previously did some dirty work for Quantum before this film takes place. She could've gotten oppressed for 5 years for all I know. I think they threatened her for ages and this mission happened to need her. Although, I think this is her first mission outside of the office because she witnesses death for the first time in this film. Surely that would happen many times before if she was in the field? Then again, her partner might've gotten 'kidnapped' the day before. So who knows? ;)
Personally, I think that Mr. White was tracking down Le Chiffre ever since the plane attack failed. Don't ask me why it took so long. Maybe Le Chiffre went rogue with a separate team that he can trust. People who aren't known to Mr. White. Finally, he shows up after Le Chiffre loses and so he kills him instantly.
Yes I'd like to think that as well. Tbh I find the torture moment the most confusing section of the film because we don't know what Vesper said during Bond's torture (They even taped it ffs Mendes :) ). And did Vesper not even get touched? Maybe she faked the screaming to get Bond to cave in - but it never did work. And how long was Mr. White there before killing the others and walking in? He could of spent 10mins talking to everyone before deciding what to do with Le Chiffre. Unless he walked in and killed everyone on the spot and then afterwards talked to her?
What I don't understand is why she killed herself. I would think that after giving the money, she might've stayed with Quantum (for obvious reasons) but then Bond messes EVERYTHING UP when he is spotted. I'd like to hear what you have to say about what would've happened if Bond never followed her? What would Gettler of done once he was given the money? They never would've gone into the house if Bond wasn't seen and she wouldn't of drowned... Did he kill her by being seen?! This question kills me every single time I watch this film. Another thing; couldn't she of lived with Bond's help after? I get that he wanted her guts once she betrayed him but I think if they talked it over, he would've protected her since he would understand the situation. I get what you are saying but I think she might of been able to get out of Quantum's hold.
My thoughts exactly!
I thought that Bond and Vesper spent weeks sailing because the film spans over a month between 6th July at Madagascar (her Bday!) until mid August in Venice. Everything else checks out with your statement :) .
"Vesper died for you. Forgive her. Forgive yourself"- QoS's main moment for him.
I've always got the feeling that Le Chiffre wasn't a big time Quantum member, and when White introduced him to Obanno he was doing the banker a favor, giving a new member a shot to expand. Le Chiffre doesn't act like a seasoned operative, and the way he acts willy nilly with the cash also backs it up. He quite frankly didn't know what kind of people he was dealing with, and it ended up biting him in the ass. He was more using Quantum as a springboard for his own personal operations, and wasn't as interested in being "a part of the team." That's I think why it takes White time to act. He doesn't really know the man beyond his (probable) background check of the guy, undertaken to ascertain how effective he'd be as a partner or Quantum, and so can't be sure how he'd act on his own in Montenegro. You have to realize how connected Le Chiffre is in that region. The whole reason he chose Montenegro is because he has tons of friends there who could protect him and facilitate the game without asking questions. It's those same people Mathis keeps framing and getting out of play to make Le Chiffre paranoid and easier to snatch.
I think White was simply waiting in the wings at Montenegro, staying out of the light until the moment he had to act. It makes no sense for him to confront Le Chiffre before the game is over, as he could risk the banker losing the round. He wanted to have Vesper there to ensure Bond would lose, then once Le Chiffre won and got the funds to his own account, he could strike and take it back, killing him for his disloyalty. White never intended to have Le Chiffre live, and I'm sure he was ordered to kill him at all costs for how badly he hurt the reputation of the organization and its standing with affiliates. Just imagine White trying to broker deals after that operation? His clients would say to him, "Yeah, the last client you set up with your organization ended up dying and your fellow associate took all his money without his permission and lost it all. How can we be expected to trust you with our assets?" Le Chiffre had to die to set an example, and for White to show future clients that the man was an exception to the rule, and not how all their deals would go down. But he had to let Le Chiffre play the game at the very least and had to make sure he won, because if he didn't he'd not get Obanno's money back through the big pot and that would look very bad. Le Chiffre was then a necessary evil for him that could only be killed once he got the money for winning the game. Only then could he die, his use no longer relevant. If Bond won, the money would be lost to MI6 and he'd have to count on Vesper even more to get it back, and if another beyond those two won it'd be even worse because he'd have to let his presence known to threaten them, exposing his organization to an outsider. At least if Le Chiffre won White would be dealing with someone who already knew the organization was out there.
Now to the business with Vesper.
I feel quite strongly that Vesper never worked for Quantum in any reciprocal capacity for any reason before this moment. If you read the book all this becomes much clearer and more backed up, but Vesper was set up in the honeypot at an earlier date, with enough time between meeting Yusef and her being used in Montenegro for her to fall for him. Unbeknownst to her, Quantum had set her up with their own agent and told him to romance her so that sometime soon they could use the treasury department of the Brits whenever they were desperate for aid. Le Chiffre's failed plan with the Skyfleet scenario drove MI6 to count on the treasury department to be consulted by M, who needed them to stake the game, triggering a need for a Quantum mole to get the money back. It is convenient for Vesper to be the one chosen, but some strings could've been pulled to get her in position. Sometime after the Skyfleet operation failed White contacted her and made it clear what he wanted her to do-or else-and so she was off to Montenegro trying to mask the fear she felt.
It's an interesting theory that she'd been gotten early on, but it doesn't hold up to what the film gives us. Vesper is at heart a good person, and she is visibly not used to doing the kinds of things Quantum want her to do. The very moment she's asked to lie to Bond, she's in pieces and the guilt is eating her inside. She's not a professional, but an innocent woman who has been strung along and lied to, then stuck up at gunpoint to do a job she morally disagrees with.
When Vesper is at the barge, I think Le Chiffre has no idea that she is with White/Quantum at all. He never addresses her in a way that makes me think he knows anything about what is going on, and he only calls her Bond's "girlfriend." He lied about Mathis being a traitor, but I don't think he lied about not really knowing who Vesper was. So when he tells Bond he'll kill her if he doesn't work with him, he means it. He doesn't know what Vesper is being used for, and you can see how shocked he is when White comes marching in. He didn't think his punishment was going to be coming quite so swiftly. Vesper's screams were real, because she was being tortured by people she wasn't working with, and who could kill her. White may've even told her not to say anything about what work she was doing for Quantum, so that Le Chiffre would never see them coming.
Now, you ask me what would've happened if Bond never tailed Vesper to the meeting in Venice. Quite simply, as with Le Chiffre, I think there was no way she was ever going to live. As I said, she's nothing but a loose end. She knows about Quantum's plan and who some of their high-ranking members are, and has shown that she fancies a man who works for a spy agency. They couldn't risk her blabbing about what she did to Bond or anyone else in a moment of weakness or guilt, as their organization had to be kept under wraps, so she had to be silenced once they got what they needed her for-the money. It sucks that they lost a corrupted treasury representative out of it, but they could always get someone else compromised to do what Vesper did all over again.
When Bond finds out about Vesper's betrayal, things get even worse, and that's ultimately what drives her to commit suicide. In the book, the guilt she felt in doing what she did to Bond was too much for her to bear, and she knew she could never face him once he found out who she really was and all the bad things she did to harm him (she also worried about the organization coming back to kill her and Bond, and didn't want him to die for her mistakes, so she took herself out of the game). In the film, this is even more dire than the book. Vesper has been forced to play his heart far more, and so the trauma she feels is multiplied, and her lover in the book is honest, whereas in the film he's lying to her. She really grew to love Bond, so the genuine care she felt for him only made it harder to do what she did. She realized how much he would despise her, how he wouldn't trust her, knowing how she had acted, and it was just too much. She also knew that somehow, someway Quantum would find her and kill her, because she failed her job and fell in love with the man they ordered her to stop at all costs. She was a dead woman, any way you spin it, and the best way to keep Bond safe would be to embrace death, hoping it would be enough for him to be left alone.
It's a damn complex narrative with so many branching characters and motivations, but what other Bond film outside of From Russia with Love could get us talking like this? I do want to say that this film represents a delineation between a complex and convoluted plot. The latter examples are scripts that make no sense whatsoever, whereas the former are those that do, they just don't give you everything wrapped up in a nice bow. There's a lot to think about and unpack in Casino Royale, but theories do match up and it is possible to make much of it clear in your head using what the movie gives you (and the book in some cases, but certainly not all).
I must admit, I wasn't looking forward to CR nearly as much as I looked forward to the Brosnan Collection. Yes, even DAD. Brosnan's movies are light entertainment; Craig's require emotional investment. It's Monday night, it's already a tiring week, am I really up for this?
I'm glad I went for it, because this really is a great film right from the start.
My favourite thing? The filmmakers were kind enough to name a character after me in the very first scene. It made me grin in the cinema and it still amuses me every time. If your surname doesn’t happen to be Dryden, however - bad luck! - there’s still plenty to enjoy in this gritty, grainy sequence.
The titles are a nice blend of retro and modern, appropriately themed, and not looking too dated yet. Give it another decade. Chris Cornell’s theme is OK, but takes a while to warm up and get going properly with some orchestral swoops. Not as catchy as the 1967 theme, that's for sure.
I had grave doubts about Craig's Bond, because he just didn't look like my idea of Bond (I have the same problem with Roger Moore), but once I actually saw him on the screen he won me over in seconds.
All the Bond actors have brought elements of Fleming's Bond to the screen. With Craig, we get the thuggishness, the 'blunt instrument', as well as the self-assured snob who knows how to dine and dress, makes love to married women, and doesn't care whether or not other people like him.
He does action. He does dialogue. He does grief. He does looking good in a suit. Is there nothing he can’t do?
I am cruelly amused when he says he's 'all ears', though. We noticed, mate.
Bond gets some excellent villains to play off. Dimitrios is thoroughly sleazy, classic Secondary Bad Guy, while LeChiffre is mad and weird, classic Bad Guy in Chief.
The girls are also out of the top drawer. Solange’s appearance is brief but memorable: smoky, sultry, dangerous, damaged and doomed.
Then there’s Vesper, who is everything she should be: beautiful, businesslike, more than capable of keeping up with Bond until it all gets a bit too heavy on the action for someone who isn’t a trained killer. There is a slight feeling of ‘oh, look, they hate each other, inevitably they will end up shagging’, but it’s fun to watch that play out. And it’s also fun to try and spot little tells that all is not what it seems.
The supporting cast is mostly about Mathis, for me. He’s a pleasure to watch and listen to, and I’m sorry his tenure will be so short.
Meanwhile, back at MI6: we're down to a skeleton staff, with Q and Moneypenny MIA and only M to hold the fort. Luckily, Judi Dench comes straight in with all guns blazing. "Christ I miss the Cold War" is easily my favourite line of the movie.
The film itself is a strange marriage of high-tech gadgetry with casino scenes that could have come straight from the Fifties, but it all works. A few of my standouts:
We get the Honey Ryder homage two movies running. Daniel Craig does it better than Halle Berry.
Dinner on a train! What could be more Bond?
I do enjoy the Vesper cocktail business, because I am old enough to remember this classic advert:
The shower scene. Hot damn. It's incredibly tender and sexy - much more so than the rather nauseating couply stuff in Como and Venice - and the first real sign that there’s as much as a shred of decency and chivalry to this Bond. And we do, we do need him to be decent and chivalrous.
The most urgent question for anyone familiar with the source material, of course, is "Are they really going to do the torture bit?” And, blimey, they do. It's charged and violent and very impressive. It doesn’t quite match the horrors of my teenage imagination, but, luckily for me, little in life does.
IMHO, the scene simply wouldn't have been possible in any other era, and probably not with any other Bond actor (though I like to think Dalton could have carried it off, if only because I enjoy seeing him get photogenically roughed up).
I am with those who feel the Venetian affair drags on a bit, spectacularly shot though it is. The eventual shock payoff, the phone call with M and the punch of the short final scene are worth it, though.
(I don't think Bond's resuscitation technique is very good, incidentally, but my First Aid certificate did expire some time ago.)
And finally: WORST. PASSWORD. EVER!
I agree that Le Chiffre tainted the organisation's reputation. Quantum would never get that back though. Even after killing him.
Moving on, I think Le Chiffre must know about Vesper working for Quantum. He hears from White but he's no pawn (as briefly mentioned above) so clearly he knows what's going on. He'd even know about SPECTRE and Blofeld but this doesn't (need to) come up in the film.
Since Vesper is working directly for Le Chiffre and Le Chiffre is directly working for White, it goes without saying that LC knows Vesper is also working for White, albeit indirectly. Tbh I think that Vesper meets White for the first time at the barge - at least in person. Vesper works 99% time directly through Le Chiffre because he is 'number 2' and it would be idiotic for a small worker (Vesper) to know about/see White, no? She should know as little as possible and giving her access to White is nuts when you think about it. Vesper could jeopardize the entire mission if she knew too much about White.
Also Vesper was giving Le Chiffre all the info about Bond's findings on his eye twitch. I doubt she was telling White, who in turn told LC. How she told Le Chiffre without Bond noticing is beyond me but she might of texted him.
I know what you're saying about Vesper's guilt after betraying Bond (that's the obvious part) but I guess somewhere in my mind I'd like to believe that they could work it out. Sounds stupid but I try to think it through and find a comfortable way for this to end, for both Bond and her. Alas, she probably only did have the option to die. Whether it was Quantum killing her straight away or suicide after Bond's realisation of what she did.
M pretty much sums it up at the end: "she made a deal to spare your life in exchange for the money. I'm sure she hoped they would let her live... but she must have known she was going to her death." *cue Vesper theme*
If Le Chiffre knew about Vesper's role, he knew what White was doing, and if he knew that it makes no sense as White and he would never be on good terms after what he did. When White goes to the barge he's not going to meet a partner, he's going to kill a man in over his head. He wasn't White's No. 2, he was a newbie who the organization was giving a chance to. Like I said, nobody would treat a boss like Le Chiffre did with White. They weren't friends or partners, far closer to meek acquaintances. If there was real trust between them, Le Chiffre wouldn't have risked doing what he did. Quantum had Obanno as a client and knew they needed a good banker to handle his money, and Le Chiffre's recent reputation for successfully dealing with money carried to the organization's ears and they reached out. It's even sort of implied that he was partially behind the stock shorting scheme following 9/11, a move he wants to replicate with Obanno's money, but White doesn't seem to be aware of this.
It could perhaps be theorized that White and Vesper where on Le Chiffre's team to help him beat Bond, and when Le Chiffre lost White turned on him, but that doesn't stack up to me either. White would've been too pissed to ever truly work with Le Chiffre, because his anger at his disloyalty was too severe.
White found out what Le Chiffre had done, got Vesper into position and tried to quietly get the money back before Obanno went ballistic, but White couldn't stop the man from going to Montenegro himself to confront Le Chiffre about what he'd done. Le Chiffre then is a lone operator. He isn't working with White to get his money back, and therefore has no idea White has Vesper in play.
I've never felt that Vesper told Le Chiffre that Bond knew his tell, or that anyone did. If you look at the scene, Le Chiffre knows what Bond has just seen him do (twitch). It's far more likely that Le Chiffre, being the intellect and tactical man he is, realized that he could screw with Bond by faking a bluff on a big hand and did so to rattle him and bust him out of the game, which he nearly does. Le Chiffre knows cards and has played poker enough to know when a bluff can be used to fake someone out, which is all he does to Bond. It doesn't take someone chirping in his ear for him to realize Bond knows, he looks at Bond straight in the eye while the guy spots his tell. It was easy for him.
JB: "Remember I told you about Le Chiffres tel? Well, Mathis told Le Chiffre. That's how he wiped me out. Same goes for the implant. Can't say I'm too sorry about losing that."
VL: "I cant believe it."
Vesper turns her head away from Bond in an attempt to mask her guilty and worrisome expression. Even Campbell decided to leave the close-up frame showing her face for an extra second. On a first watch you wouldn't notice it because it's so subtle. Yet so well done by Eva Green.
This means that she's definitely the one who told Le Chiffre about the eye twitch and the tracker (Mathis is not guilty as we discover in the next film and like you said, Le Chiffre only told him that Mathis was a friend to make Vesper seem innocent for leverage )
About the stock market: How do you think they'd get a "reasonable rate of return" if they didn't risk it on something? How else are they going to make more cash? Obviously they all knew he was abusing the stock market -using illegal means- to increase the portfolio for his clients. Do you think that Obanno said; "spend some cash and open a nice little ice-cream parlour with it and give us a % of the proceeds." Of course not. These people are mercenaries for crying out loud! They know the risk of failure by doing these things but they trust them since they probably succeeded every single time prior to the film. Why wouldn't they trust Le Chiffre and co?
One last thing; I noticed that when Valenka poisons the drink, Vesper is at the bar and as Bond takes his first sip, we see her watching him with a concerned look. I know it might sound crazy but maybe, just maybe, she saw Valenka poison the martini and realised that it was Le Chiffres next attempt to stop Bond. She doesn't initially do anything because at this point she still wants him to lose and of course her partner is supposedly kidnapped by Quantum. Look at this as her simply going along with her original intent - to stop Bond.
She must of changed her mind during the brief hesitation to either go with the plan (Bond will die) or to save him, because she actually does love him too much. Maybe when she saves Bond is the exact moment she falls completely in love with him (or the first time we notice that she does because the audience gets proof). Either way, later we never get a chance to see how she suddenly falls in love with him, so this could be it. Interesting theory.
But regardless of her witnessing the poisoning or not, do you think that that's when she realises how much she loves him? She has a choice after all: let him stay dead and Le Chiffre "wins" or bring Bond back to life and risk a daunting future. In the end she decides to risk it, all for the sake of love.
So I have to be in the correct mood. Not helped by reading the users inane, asinine and daft comments of this site. Hence I was trying to rebut some of their arguments, instead of enjoying Casino Royale. That lasted up until - “Oh, and the valet ticket.”
Still my grumblings aside -
For the first time, we get to see 007 to go a personal journey. These are my personal views, and how I interpret the films.
Daniel Craig's Performance in Casino Royale
Craig delivers a multi faceted portrayal in CR. His is an arrogant Bond, but full of the tenacity and earnest, that we've come to expect from Bond. His is a darkly charismatic Bond, full of subtle humour. (Think of Bond's interactions with the hotel receptionist at the Hotel Splendie, when she wishes him a “happy stay”. Craig's reaction is just priceless; “Thank you – I will” - he seems genuinely touched.
On reflection, Bond knows shooting up the embassy was a mistake, and so he breaks into M's flat to accesses her computer, to set it right. If it wasn't for Cater, I expect Bond would have interrogated Mollaka.
Still, I have a problem with said scene. Fleming's 007 would not have been so disrespectful. I guess Craig's Bond was seeing how far he could push M, to get a gauge on her. Yet he leaves her laptop open, giving her a lead. As with Le Chiffre later on, when Bond discards his cover, to see what effect it would have on Le Chiffre, so Bond does a similar experiment on M.
After M dresses Bond down in her apartment, Bond travels to the Bahamas, with M's advice in mind, logging on with M's account, so that she could see what Bond was up to, following the leads he got from M's computer, and tracing them to the Bahamas, which leads to Le Chiffre. A repentant Bond, setting out fix his mistakes.
If there is a caveat to Craig, in CR at least, is that he is not comfortable in his new found sex status – see Bond seduction of Solange. Craig’s Bond is aware how pretentious his “it keeps it simple” line is to Solange, and laughs.
One can also look to Bond's choice of clothes – casual in the beginning of the movie, and gets progressively smarter and the film goes on. By the end of the picture he's in his “armour” - a 3-piece suit.
Although I’m not a huge fan of Brioni’s tailoring for Craig. He often looks like a boy playing dress up in his father’s suits. This would be fixed in Craig’s sophomore outing, in which he looks positively spiffy.
Bond does enjoy the finer things in life, he doesn't always have an appreciation of them – see “does it look like I give a damn”.
After his episode with the “dirty Martini”, when Bond and Vesper are dining, Bond realizes that he's lucky to be alive. Hence his enjoyment of his eating. Bond could be dead tomorrow, so he has to enjoy the finer things in life.
Despite Craig's Bond evolvement throughout the film, he still has a flash of instinctual violence, when Le Chiffre wipes him out. Bond grabs a knife, and to hell with the consequences. If he can't beat Le Chiffre at the table, he'll just have to execute him.
Le Chiffre beats the lesson “the bigger picture” into Bond, in the harrowing torture scene. That's when it all clicks for Bond.
Le Chiffre almost breaks Bond in the torture scene. Bond is reduced to a snarling animal at this point. And the only way that Bond's sees, to take his secret too the grave, is too provoke Le Chiffre, hence his wisecracks. Even Bond and Le Chiffre have a quick laugh over Le Chiffre's blatant lie - "Do it soon enough and she might even be in one piece."
Virtually everyone assumes Bond is emotionally cold, even M, after they discover Solange. The only person to see through Bond's bluff is Vesper.
Which makes Vesper's betrayal of Bond, even more heartbreaking. See the way that Vesper, in the hotel lobby in Venice, holds on to Bond's face, just a moment too long.
Vesper was terrified, but hid it well. In SF, Bond sees through Severine's bluff.
Vesper left a clue for Bond in Venice – being Bond, she knew that he would get Quantum.
As Ian Fleming said, “hard men have a tendency to slip into sentimentality”, and we get to see that trend with Vesper in the shower scene.
Bond's soul is being destroyed by the work he is doing, as demonstrated by the bruising stairwell fight – one of the series very best. After that fight, Bond is left gaunt faced, and shaken, as he surveys his face in the mirror – Fleming's creation laid bare.
Ian Fleming's Casino Royale was not an origin story, but the filmic adaptation, is so brilliantly is one. From arrogant agent to the fully formed one in the final reel, tempered by Bond's oft brutal lessons.
Seeing CR for the first time, and like Sean Connery's first four films, I couldn't take my eyes of the character of Bond. And I still have that reaction to CR, to this day.
Timothy Dalton said that he would've liked have appeared in CR, as they're was so much “meat on the bone”. I wonder what the other five actors would do, if they had CR's story arc?
It's a bit unfair judging Craig by the same standard as the other Bonds – they just didn't have such juicy material to sink their teeth into.
I found the performance of Craig in CR and QoS, to have similarities to Connery's performance in DN – both have a slight uncouthness to them, but by FRWL, this “rough diamond” that Connery and Craig share, has been completely smoothed over, laying the foundations for the cinematic version of 007.
Pre Fleming – CR/QoS
Fleming's 007 – DN/FRWL
Cinematic 007 – GF (with some notable exceptions – TB, OHMSS, TLD, LTK)
Casino Royale is the finest 007 movie since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Need I say more?
I know, good isn't it.
This thinking, is definitely wrong.
In both the novel and the film, Le Chiffre is secretly taking another party's funds and using them for his own purposes. In the novel he uses SMERSH's money to fund brothels in France, and in the film he takes Obanno's money and-without permission-risks it all at a chance of ballooning it.
The problem is, nobody asked him to do this. As M says, all Le Chiffre is supposed to do for his clients is hold their money and make it available to them at any location and at any time wherever they are in the world, but that's it. Obanno only wanted his money secure and available, he never once ordered Le Chiffre to risk it and do what he did with Skyfleet. To condone that would be risking a massive amount of money on something that would attract a lot of major attention, especially in the early 2000s following the biggest terror attack of the modern age. Obanno wanted a quiet investment, and the reasonable return he expected was simply partnering with a man who he could trust to do that simple job with tight lips and discretion. When Le Chiffre doesn't do as he asked, he's livid.
That's why he comes in person to the casino to confront Le Chiffre with talks of his betrayal, and nearly takes his damn hands off for what he did. Le Chiffre took his money without asking, and played the stock market with it when all he wanted was a professional banking deal done. Obanno would never be that enraged if he gave Le Chiffre carte blanche with his money, nor does it make sense at any level that he would do such a thing.
This was after the shower moment where Bond was really comforting to her, so he was more than just a mark at that point, he was a friend, confidante and possibly more. She saved him because he had saved her, and given her more kindness than she felt she deserved for what she was doing.
As I said, Vesper is inherently a good person, and would never take any kind of hard action against anyone. She does the least that Quantum ask as she can and never goes beyond, as she doesn't have the ability to be that other kind of person. Part of what makes Bond fall for her is because he sees that great spirit and care in her that even Quantum couldn't crush. Through it all, she retained who she was, even when she was facing massive trauma and guilt.
Watching it this week I thought the same things when Mathis was talking. "Mathis, I'm sure Vesper has at least played poker once, you don't really need to give her a play-by-play of it all." And of course where is Mathis standing when he spouts all these strategies Bond could employ against the other players? Behind Le Chiffre. That bugger, maybe he really was the traitor!
The Venice building is one element I've been iffy on in the past too, but I tend to just accept it and go for the ride. The chase with Bond trying to find Vesper is a great lead-in, and it's nice to get a last shot of adrenaline before the movie ends; the practical nature of the set is also amazing.
I will say, however, that I would've loved to see Daniel play it like in the book, where Bond just finds Vesper in bed, and has to read the note to find out everything. In a way the book is more tragic, because at least in the film Bond gets to talk with Vesper for a fleeting second and they share words before she dies. In the book she dies without a word and leaves him nothing but a letter for him to sort out what she's done in his head. Truly traumatic. Dan would've sold the hell out of that scene, though.
People think it's just one action scene too many, which I can get. But it's all worth it to me to see Bond struggle to stop the tanker, and to see the payoff of him sabotaging Carlos and grinning as he goes sky high.
I think the film is far from over burdened with action scenes. The actual lack of action scenes are compensated for by the three major scenes being huge in scale. Nothing wrong with that when they are done as well as this. The airport scene and free running scene are massive in scale but pull you in completely.
Precisely. Vesper wouldn't ever be able to kill someone with her own hands. She tries to avoid violence as much as she can (running away during stairwell scene) but she's hopelessly stuck in-between Bond and Quantum. When they're eating together, she even tries tapping in to Bond's morales/motivations and questions him on his profession. Against her best intentions, Bond shakes off her concern with a one-liner and this upsets her imo. However he later agrees with what she said (beach scene) and gives up the job just for her.
Cast
Daniel Craig takes on the mantle of James Bond in this reboot of the series. I'd never seen him in anything before but that is always irrelevant to me of any of the new actors who come in. I remember the whole "CraigNotBond" brigade making their thoughts known and setting up their website. It annoyed me so much at the time, not giving the guy a chance and judging him before seeing any sort of performance; basically stating that he was blonde so not Bond.
Anyway, I really hope that some, if not all, of them ate their words after seeing Casino Royale. Craig, in this, is a revelation and gives a great performance of Bond. I like the fact it's a reboot, because we get to see Bond before he is a 00, albeit in the pts. I like to think of his performance as what Bond was like before DN. Raw, inexperienced, cocky etc as from DN we see such a smoother character from Connery. I enjoy the emotion he brings in this, with a reminder of GL's story in OHMSS. He is great in the fight, he's fit as a fiddle, decent on the action scenes. CR is such a great start for Craig.
One exchange with Vesper I enjoyed was when mentioning that she wasn't his type - "Smart?" she replies, to which he says "Single". Very clever.
Mads Mikkelson as Le Chiffre is another great casting choice for this movie. Now I don't know the books I'm afraid but I am aware of how different he is to the book. For me though, i have nothing to compare and his performance is great, from the menace he can bring as seen in the torture scene, to his fear when attacked by Obanno and his men. A great villain.
Eva Green is great as Vesper. From her intro on the train and the following conversation with Bond, she is more than a match for him, although ultimately falling for him, despite going against as a double agent in order to save her lover. Green plays it very well and you believe that she really does love Bond. Not knowing the books, I was very surprised at the twist, never saw it coming and that is testament to Green's performance. Plus, for me, the most naturally beautiful of all the Bond girls in the series. Yes, she looks amazing during the card game but, take a good luck while she gets ready in her room, such natural beauty.
Judi Dench gives us something from previous movies, even though this is a reboot, as M. Never lets anyone down and she puts in another fine performance.
Giancarlo Giannini is good as Mathis. Good chemistry between himself and Craig which is always a bonus.
Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter is good, despite spending most of his time looking mean and moody during the card game.
Caterino Munro as the sacrificial lamb, Solange is another attractive woman. Craig seemed to do very well here. While Eva Green brought the beauty to this movie, Solange bought the sexy, especially in that dress that just clings to every part of her body.
Jepser Christiansen is great as Mr White, making appearances when least expected, in particular when he assassinates Le Chiffre. Makes him all the more menacing.
Without mentioning all the rest, I will say that this is a stellar cast, one of the best of the series without a doubt.
Bond Elements
The gun barrel is all new and I must say that, while I am a sucker for the ones that have come before, thanks to @Birdleson, I now look at it fitting very nicely as Bonds first kill. I have never looked at it like that before but it fits perfectly.
The pts is great, all black and white, different to what has come before but, again, due to his lack of double O status at the time it all fits well. It's a brutal sequence, not just with the fight but with the assassination of Dryden.
Some nice locations on view that all look great in the movie.
Not much to speak of in gadgets, apart form the car etc. The main one of note, the medical kit in the car certainly shows its use by saving his life part way through the card game. We are also told a story of how Bond gets his DB5. This, while ok, forgets about the happenings in GF when he is given the DB5 as his new car from Q.
Humour is kept to a minimum, not much in the way of laughs etc. Anything that does crop up is subtle, although the "That's because you know what I can do with my little finger" line harks back to Brosnan and Moore.
This movie features some great action sequences. The parkour chase, the airport scene etc. all very good. The final scene in Venice, for the most part I really like, mainly because Bond is losing Vesper, very emotional stuff.
The plot is credible enough and the scheme is all about money.
Production
Martin Campbell is on directing duties and he gives us a great, gritty Bond movie. While it is different to many Bonds of the series, it does fit in more with the likes of DN and FRWL. Great job.
The opening title design is great, one of my favourites of the series and fit the movie perfectly. I love the end where we see that Bonds double 0 status is confirmed.
The script is fine, with the twists and turns of the movie, it would have been very easy for this to be very confusing. It's not, it's easy enough to follow with some very good dialogue throughout.
The movie is shot very well and we see some wonderful location shots through the movie.
David Arnold gives us a great score here, with some wonderful pieces. The title song is one of my favourites. I enjoy rock music as it is and this is superb. Cornell has a cracking voice and it fits the movie very well and fits the title credits, for the most part, fine.
The editing is fine, with just a few noticeable stuntmen. The work on the parkour chase was excellent.
All actors look great in the costumes they are given to wear. However, not a fan of those baggy trousers Bond is wearing in the Bahamas when he's asked to park that guys car.
The main set design here is the Casino Royale and, my, does it look grand. Brilliant work and great attention to detail. I know it's not to the standard of some of those from the 60's and 70's but it does look great.
Final notes
Nods to DN (twice) when we see someone coning out of the sea, in this case it's Bond. My wife certainly enjoys these parts of the movie.
Nice touch has Tsai Chin make an appearance as Madame Wu.
3rd film in a row seeing Bond get soaked by a sprinkle system.
"Ow!"
Not a great way to fit the Michael G Wilson cameo in.
No need for that bloody Richard Branson cameo, thankfully the rest of the airport scene is great.
So, hope that's all ok, apologies for the delay etc.