The coldest blood runs through my veins. You know my name.
So you want me to be half monk, half hitman.
Ian Fleming sold the rights to his first James Bond novel separately from the rest of the films, which is the reason that it took so long for a proper adaptation of the first novel.With the 21st film in the franchise, the EON production team essentially rebooted the continuity of the Bond series and started over with Bond acquiring his license to kill.In this film, adapted from the novel (moving its setting from the 1950s to the present day and from France to the newly-independent Montenegro), Bond must essentially win a high-stakes game of poker against a terrorist financier known only as Le Chiffre. Along the way, Bond gets tortured and falls in love with Vesper Lynd.The film's first half, which shows how Bond earned his 00 status and tracked down Le Chiffre, was written directly for the screen. The second half follows Fleming's original novel, but features several changes. The card game was originally Baccarat but changed to Texas Hold 'Em Poker, a trendy move but also better suited for film. The book in general lacks the wisecracks and otherwise humorous moments, which makes the torture scene a different affair altogether. Lastly Vesper's final scenes are less action-packed, which also leaves out a long discussion between Bond and Mathis on the nature of evil.This film is a lot darker than the previous films, with the fight scenes brutal and bloody. At some point during the Bond franchise it became essentially its own genre, about a suave superhero secret agent who would save the world from megalomaniacs using Underwater Bases, Kill Sats, pilfered nuclear weapons or anything else that might spell out the end of the world. This film in general tone is a bit closer to a political thriller at its core (tracking down the cash flow of a terrorist organization) modified to include the talents of James Bond. It was cheered on by fans of the franchise for rebooting and generally tightening what had become somewhat tired and stale.Quantum of Solace continues directly from this movie, making it among the few Bond movies that elaborate a greater story arc instead of the standalone format.The film is in fact the third (and certainly best) production of Casino Royale. Its predecessors were made by companies other than EON. Neither can be considered in any way canon, and both took a lot of liberties with the story and character (of course, true to form, this film took its own liberties):
The 1954 version was an episode made for the American Climax! TV series. While it has the honor of being the first Bond production outside a book, it Americanized everything including Bond himself, as well as greatly simplifying the story. It starred Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. In turn Leiter was changed from American to British.
The 1967 version was an unholy mess of a spoof, with no less than 8 Bonds (9 including Sean Connery, who does not appear but receives a Shout Out) and almost as many directors. Logic is paid little heed in the pursuit of comedy. Notably, it includes David Niven as the one-and-only original Sir James Bond — Niven was Fleming's first choice for the part before Connery made it his own — as well as Ursula Andress's second appearance in a Bond movie, this time as both the Bond girl and James Bond. It also starred Woody Allen as young Jimmy Bond (his "disappointing" nephew), Peter Sellers as Evelyn Tremble a.k.a. James Bond, and Orson Welles as Le Chiffre. This version of the movie is now officially hosted on YouTube, for your viewing curiousity.
The 2006 film contains examples of these tropes—and you'd be surprised how many of these actually turn up in the novel:
Awesome yet Practical - Very few gadgets, very little jokes, greater focus on the intelligence and physical skill of the main character. (This comes more or less from the book, since Bond didn't become a gadgeteer until the original film adaptations.) In fact, the only two pieces of truly high-tech equipment are a tracer placed into Bond's forearm and a rather high-tech first-aid kit in his car, both of which are extremely practical.
The relative lack of gadgets can be a case of Technology Marches On. Imagine if Sean Connery's Bond was given a radio telephone that could download navigational data from a network of military satellites in geosynchronous orbit over the Earth? Nevermind his portable wireless computer terminal that can connect to MI 6's computer database from evidently anywhere, even a fishing boat in the middle of the water, and which can fit in a suitcase easily?
Good God man, be reasonable! We have to make it believable!
Actually there are as many gadgets as in any other Bond movie, they only lack traditional exposition. Tracking device allowing to precisely show the location of the target on the 3D map of the building and using a cellphone application as an interface? Bloodstream toxin analyzer with satellite connection? Call analysis system allowing to track the place the call was made by reading the SIM card? Definitely 'gadgety' enough.
Badass - Daniel Craig's version of Bond is remorseless when he kills, which becomes a theme in the film. He can also apparently smash his way through drywall and takes a nail gun to his shoulder without even a grimace.
Which is quite accurate to Ian Fleming's original novel version.
Bond Gun Barrel - The movie plays with this bit; a part of the actual narrative becomes the "Bond Shooting At A Gun Barrel's POV" scene.
Break the Cutie - Bond in the chair with no bottom. Bond being heartbroken after Vesper's death, and that causes Bond's depression and weariness seen in most of Quantum of Solace.
The Cameo: In the Miami airport scene, look very closely at who is in the metal detection scanner opposite the Skyfleet bomber. Of all people, Richard Branson decides to make an appearance.
The Can Kicked Him - Bond's first murder was in a bathroom in a Paris subway.
California Doubling: All scenes that take place in Montenegro and United States are actually shot in Czech Republic (that is located in different climatic zone than Montenegro and Florida). Also, Madagascar in the opening is the Bahamas.
Chase Scene - Played straight with the Parkour scene, but subverted for the car chase: When Bond rushes out in his fancy modified Aston-Martin after the people who kidnapped Vesper, he's almost immediately driven off the road by them dropping her in the centre of the road. He is summarily captured (This is taken directly from the book; all that's changed is the model of car).
Chekhov's Gun: Near the beginning is a scene with Le Chiffre playing poker. "I have 2 pair, you have a 17.5% chance of getting a straight". Guess what happens during the big poker game...
Bond actually gets a straight flush, the probability of which is much lower than getting a regular straight.
Early in the movie, The Bombmaker gets spooked when he sees one of the British agents holding a finger to his ear, giving away that he was using an earpiece. Later on, when Bond and Vesper are trying to evade a pair of bad guys via Fake-Out Make-Out, one of the bad guys notices the earpiece that Bond was using to listen in on Le Chifre with.
City of Canals - Including a scene where Bond sinks a floating building.
Cool Car: Just look at Bond's Aston! Just freaking look at it! Even if it was completely stock it would still be gorgeous!
And the older Aston that Bond runs into isn't half bad either.
Continuity Reboot - The movie did this to the Bond movie franchise. Though they also have claimed in secondary material that it's a Prequel.
Possibly. A popular fan theory holds that "James Bond" is just a pseudonym used by 007 agents, and that each Bond actor in the series portrays a different character. If it's true, Casino Royale could just be the origin story for a new agent.
Darker and Edgier - The movie tries to be more mature and realistic than its predecessors — for example, instead of just adding extra blood, sex, and swearing (all of which existed in previous Bond films), the movie made more subtle changes. Interestingly, some of its darkest elements were actually taken straight from the book (such as the torture scene late in the film).
Determinator - Bond, whenever he's in chase mode. When going after the Parkour-adept bombmaker, he uses a bulldozer to smash through the obstacles.
Didn't Think This Through - At least a couple on the part of the writers, where they somewhat misunderstood elements of the original novel.
Bond blows his cover when he and Vesper arrive at the hotel, his reasons for doing so being that he's giving Le Chiffre a name he already has in exchange for more vital information about him. In the original novel it is stated that Bond's cover didn't matter as far as Le Chiffre was concerned, he already knew who he was and if he didn't he was going to as soon as they sat down to play cards with each other, but it was important to keep up appearances so as to keep his identity as a SECRET agent a secret from all the other guests and players.
Downer Ending - "The bitch is dead." The line's from the original novel, more or less. Interestingly, M's response to this line provokes a change in 007 that was not there in the novel. Rather than turning hard and misogynistic, he becomes obsessed with revenge. (Of course in either case Bond was simply covering his feelings, showing hatred and contempt instead of the sadness he felt at being betrayed by and losing the woman he loved)
Dyeing For Your Art - Daniel Craig buffed up and put on 20 lbs of muscle for the role of Bond.
Eye Scream: In the final gunfight, Bond shoots the head of the thugs in the eye with a nailgun. Ironically, the exact eye that is punctured by the nail was already blind (indicated by the opaque lense of his glasses), if not gone altogether.
He might not have been actually blind. Some marksmen close one eye while shooting (or, in this case, have one of their lenses blacked out) to cut down on depth perception and improve their aim.
Finger Suck Healing: Bond sucks on Vesper's fingers when she is going into shock.
Foe Yay: Le Chiffre has a memorable line when he has Bond tied up and naked:
"You've taken good care of your body. Such. A waste."
Freeze Frame Bonus - When Dryden is shot, there's a brief shot of him with his family, emphasizing the fact that no matter how you paint him, Bond is a killer.
Groin Attack: What Le Chiffre does with a knotted rope.
Heroic BSOD: Bond has a variation at the end of one game after Le Chiffre deliberately uses his tell to fool Bond while everyone else leaves the table.
Hoist by His Own Petard: In one scene, a mook tries to blow up a plane via remote detontator, only to find that Bond somehow clipped the bomb to his belt...
Hollywood Nerd: Le Chiffre somewhat qualifies. He's very good at math, a poker prodigy, and he has an inhaler.
In the book, it's stated that the inhaler is benzedrine. It might not necessarily be for asthma, though; perhaps he's using it as a stimulant.
Benzedrine is an older name for dextroamphetamine.
Hostage Situation - Somewhat reversed, in that the hero is the one taking the hostage. Subverted again in that when the eye-patched villain tries to take Vesper hostage, Bond doesn't care what happens to her, because he thinks she's a double agent.
Image Song - Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name", which also has cues in the score to act as the Leit Motif before the final scene.
Dryden: How did he die? Bond: Your contact? Not well. Dryden: Made you feel it, did he? Well, you needn't worry. The second is—(gets shot by Bond) Bond: Yes. Considerably.
Jack of All Stats: They make a point of establishing this about him early in the movie. He's athletic but can't match the Le Parkour skills of his quarry and has to use his brain, working the environment, to make up the difference.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Craig's Bond is shown initially as a cynical and tough guy. However that doesn't mean he has no humanity or he doesn't feel compassion or pity. The "shower" sequence says all.
Killed Mid-Sentence: Bond does this early in the film to earn his 00 status.
Dryden:[Discussing Bond's first kill] Made you feel it, did he? Well... not to worry. The second is-
The Man Behind the Man: Alex Dimitrios to the parkour bomber, then Le Chiffre to Dimitrios and Mr. White to Le Chiffre. Continues on into Quantum of Solace, where more men behind Mr. White are revealed.
Manservice - Bond climbing out of the ocean. Many jaws dropped.
For the more traditional fanservice: Why is that woman in a bathing suit riding a horse on a beach?
Meaningful Echo - "Money isn't as important as knowing who to trust": What Le Chiffre says to Dimitiros when he reminds him what's important in their organization and also the last sentence he hears before a SMERSH/QUANTUM agent kills him.
Misplaced Wildlife - An early scene has people watching a fight between a mongoose and a cobra... except the mongoose is actually a ferret.
Mood Whiplash: During the exceptionally brutal torture scene, Bond informs Le Chiffre that he has an itch "down there". The villain takes another whack at the poor man's family jewels while Bonds screams: "No, no! To the right! To the right!" before breaking down into hysterical laughter/tears and exclaiming: "Now the whole world's gonna know you died scratching my balls!"
Mythology Gag - Vesper's introduction to Bond references Miss Moneypenny, who does not appear in the film. Later in the film, a bartender asks him whether he prefers his martini shaken or stirred, but Bond is too frustrated at the moment to care and snaps, "Do I look like I give a damn?"
And on their way to the Casino, Bond jokingly tells Vesper her alias is "Stephanie Broadchest", referencing the naming style of Bond girls like Pussy Galore, Honey Ryder and Kissy Suzuki.
When M chastises Bond early in the movie, she mentions "Christ, I miss the Cold War," a callback to her character's introduction in GoldenEye, where she chastises Bond (played by Pierce Brosnan) for being a "relic of the Cold War."
Also Bond wins a classic Aston Martin DB5, which is one of the best known cars from the older movies.
Nail 'Em: Gettler attacks bond with a nail gun in the climax. It appears to have rapid fire function.
Never Trust a Trailer - You see Bond kissing Vesper in the sea in the poster up there? The scene, which also appears in the trailer, is not in the movie.
Parking Payback - Bond is mistaken for a member of the resort staff and ordered by a guest (with extreme condescension) to park his car. He does so - first flawlessly, and then, after a pause, pulling out and back in again hard enough to smash the front of the car behind him, divest the dickish guest's car of its rear bumper, knock over the parking barrier, and set off half a dozen car alarms. Then he tosses the keys somewhere into the chaos without looking and strides off. Nobody revenge-parks like James Bond.
It's not just to be a dick. It also distracts hotel security so that Bond can get into the security booth and access the hotel's security camera footage.
Pragmatic Adaptation - While obviously more well-known and popular, Texas Hold-Em is also far more of a psychological warfare game than Baccarat.
Product Placement - Lots, especially for Sony. The most bizarre one has to be the hotel that stores its surveillance camera footage on Blu-ray discs...
Also, Vesper brings up James's watch when evaluating his personality, which he corrects her Rolex guess to Omega. The marketing for the film also included Omega ads involving Bond.
Race Lift - Felix Leiter (a blond Texan in the novels) is black in this movie and in Quantum of Solace (played by Jeffrey Wright). Incidentally, before Wright the actor playing Leiter had changed with every film; only one actor (David Hedison) had ever reprised the role, and his two appearances were non-consecutive and 16 years apart. (There was a black Leiter prior to Wright: Bernie Casey in the non-canonical Never Say Never Again.)
Rule of Cool - Bond wins the card game, against master poker players, not by outplaying them or by some great strategy, but because he gets a straight flush at the exact right moment in the ideal situation, where everyone else stays in because they all happen to have hands that are near impossible to beat (as opposed to folding when they realize Bond probably has a good hand, which would be the typical outcome), which has even more ridiculous odds. The only reason the audience does not question what is nearly mathematically impossible is that Bond getting a straight flush is flippin' cool.
Nearly mathematically impossible, yes, but ask any card player about their worst bad beat, and it'll sound almost exactly like Le Chiffre's. The odds of quad aces losing a hand are effectively zero, and yet it happens.
Show Some Leg - To give Bond an advantage in the poker game, he gets Vesper a very low-cut dress. It backfires somewhat, as Bond ends up just as distracted.
Technology Marches On: Possibly the reason that Bond doesn't have so many Bond Gadgets. Look at how many perfectly mundane things he uses that would have been a Bond Gadget in the 60s. Or even the 90s.
She didn't kill the guy, she just helped by knocking the gun out of his hand while Bond strangled him. I guess she figured it amounted to the same thing.
To the Pain - "You know, I never understood all these elaborate tortures. It's the simplest thing... to cause more pain than a man can possibly endure." (then comes the Groin Attack mentioned above)
This also may be a Take ThatMythology Gag referring to the fairly elaborate torture scenes from prior Bond movies, most notably the laser cutting table in Goldfinger.
But that wasn't a torture scene in Goldfinger. He didn't expect him to talk, he expected him to DIE!
Tragic Hero - The novel is written basically as a tragedy, showing Bond's downward spiral of failure and futility. As a spy, he's clearly in over his head and only succeeds in a technical sense through sheer luck and outside intervention. It's only after he loses everything, including Vesper, that he embraces his profession as a super-spy.
Trailers Always Spoil: The trailers for the film include the very last shot of the film, with Bond in the very nice suit and vest while carrying a silenced submachine gun. They do leave out the context and the line that makes that scene so awesome though.
Two Decades Behind: Definitely an example of Pandering to the Base. The recipe for the martini variant Bond names after Vesper Lynd is taken word-for-word from the novel. The problem is, Lillet stopped making one of its ingredients, Kina Lillet, in 1986, replacing it with a reformulated Lillet (sans the quinine that gave it the "Kina" part of the name) called Lillet Blanc. But the film is set in the present-day, and mentions Kina Lillet by name. (This also shows up in Quantum of Solace.)
Watch the Paint Job - The effects crew managed to rotate Bond's Aston Martin 7 times for the scene where it's totaled. Makes any car fan weep, and it set a world record in the process.
On the DVD extra featurette about how they performed the stunt, they felt it necessary to include a disclaimer noting the car was specially reinforced and Do Not Try This At Home. As if the average person who buys an Aston Martin's first impulse is to see how many times you can roll it . . . .
What the Hell, Hero?: Subverted. M gives Bond a severe chewing out for shooting the unarmed bombmaker and blowing up an embassy, but her main complaint is that he got caught on videotape doing it.
It's also a Mythology Gag. When Judi Dench was first cast in the Bond universe, while chastising Brosnan!Bond about his trigger-happy nature, she refers to him as a "relic from the Cold War."
Xanatos Speed Chess - Things take a sharp turn for the confusing after Bond and Vesper are rescued following the card game.
You Look Familiar - Poker game participant Madame Wu is played by Tsai Chin, who also played the Chinese girl Bond bedded at the beginning of You Only Live Twice.
Your Princess Is in Another Castle - The Big Bad has been defeated, Vesper and Bond do it, all is good... Vesper suddenly steals 20 million dollars to pay for her fiancé's ransom. And dies.
Again from the original novel, although the money isn't stolen there and Vesper's suicide is far more sudden.
Americans Are Cowboys - The American army is apparently composed of cowboys and Indians.
And Starring - Terence Cooper and Barbara Bouchet are credited as co-stars, but right before them, George Raft and Jean Paul Belmondo are featured in the secondary cast with no special words around their names despite making a very minor appearance at the climax.
Anyone Can Die - It's the only movie where James Bond dies. All eight of them. Many at the same time.
Cast as a Mask - Dr. Noah is pretty much a spoof of this trope.
Celibate Hero - Niven's Bond, following having to double-cross the love of his life, Mata Hari (yes, that Mata Hari), and have her executed. And then he kisses Moneypenny's daughter. Yeah.
Cover Drop - During the opening credits, you may have noticed the images of explosions and several characters as angels. These will make sense at the very end.
Creator Killer - A sadly literal instance. The stress of making the film caused producer Charles K. Feldman to develop heart problems, which claimed his life just two years after its release.
A less lethal instance happened to all of the film's directors except for John Huston. All of them had fairly distinguished careers prior to working on this film, but none of them had anywhere near the same success afterwards. Probably the worst affected was Val Guest; after word got out that he had taken over as the primary director late in production, he got unfairly blamed for the resulting mess and was reduced to directing Awful British Sex Comedies for the rest of his career.
Egocentric Team Naming: Once Sir James Bond becomes head of MI 6 after the previous M gets offed, the very first thing he does is rename ALL his agents, male AND female, James Bond 007 as a ploy to confuse the enemy.
Everyone Join The Party: In the finale, all Hell breaks loose when the Big Bad's casino is invaded by Ransome and an army of secret agents (apparently) sent to assist James Bond, consisting of a French-Foreign Legionnaire, George Raft playing himself, sterotypical Cowboys and Indians, chimpanzees, and even seals. And then everyone else in the casino joins in on the action. No one is safe, especially when the whole casino explodes at the end, killing everyone inside.
Mood Whiplash - When Vesper Lynd recruits Evelyn Tremble, the film suddenly becomes considerably less wacky, though still heavy on comic Double Entendre; it's where "The Look of Love" comes in - after 40+ minutes of slapstick. Indeed, most of Peter Sellers' scenes come as this compared to the rest of the film, in part because he plays his role mostly straight.
Real Life Writes the Plot - The increasingly zany nature of the film and its production was largely compensating for Sellers being fired before all his material was shot. How zany did things get? In the end, each segment of the movie was filmed by a different director, making it seem absurdly disjointed.
Rule of Funny - About the only reason for all the stuff that happens in the climactic fight.
Take That - Niven's Bond calls Sean Connery's Bond a sex maniac who dragged the James Bond name through the dirt, and takes his fellow spies to task for relying on gadgets.
Peter Sellers was fired midway through the shoot due to chronic absence and miscellaneous poor behavior, so the filmmakers making up for this by having his character shot to deathby the suddenly turncoat Vesper can be seen as this as well.
Who's Laughing Now? - Jimmy Bond is the Big Bad, intending to conquer the world as revenge against his famous, and infinitely more stylish and sophisticated, uncle.
Deleted Scene: The extremely hard-to-find real ending involved Le Chiffre grabbing the razor (see The Unreveal) and holding Vesper hostage, followed by Bond shooting the former then making out with Vesper.
The Unreveal - Chiffre is shown groping for his hat — then the show ends. It had previously been mentioned that he kept a razor hidden there.
What Could Have Been: The network apparently commissioned a James Bond TV show based on the strength of this one special. Ian Fleming wrote a few outlines for some episodes and then negotiations fell through, and Fleming used the outlines he had already created and that became the eighth Bond book For Your Eyes Only. Fleming would have his turn in television again when he did some concept work for The Man From UNCLE.
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