History Headscratchers / CasinoRoyale2006

* Why did Valenka stay with Le Chiffre after [[spoiler: she very nearly had her arm cut off without a word of protest from him]]? Later in the casino, she not only helps him [[spoiler: by poisoning Bond]] but doesn't even seem mad or cold toward him at any point. Hell, in that brief scene after [[spoiler: he takes Bond for 10 million]] she seemed downright affectionate.

*** The song makes the most sense if you imagine it is being sung by Bond to Vesper. He's describing her induction into the world of espionage from her comfortable world in the Treasury. "Arm yourself because no one else here will save you": Your reliance on others to protect you (the police, the army, the government) is pointless now, because the people we fight are ruthless beyond measure. "The odds will betray you": [[spoiler: Vesper's death.]] "And I will replace you": By the next movie, you'll only be a memory, and I'll have a new Bond Girl.

* Why does Le Chiffre lie [[spoiler: about Mathis working for him ? ]]

** Because he uses [[spoiler: Vesper]] as taunt-fodder so he needs Bond to still care about her.

** There is a FanTheory that everyone at the table was actually undercover agents working for various foreign governments, though it isn't really based on anything. Certainly if Felix Leiter won things would have went the way they were supposed to, albeit for the [=CIA=] rather than [=MI6=].

** If most of the players are just ordinary, wealthy poker players and one of them beats Le Chiffre, then he probably abducts them and tortures them for their passcode and account number just as he did to Bond. Leiter and Bond had both better move quickly to intervene here because they are probably the only two who can withstand his torture, any other individual around that table is a lot more likely to break and fast at that. If they arrest or kill him (preferably the former) then perhaps the [=CIA=] or [=MI6=] is happy to let the winner take most of the pooled funds, minus their (that is, the spy agency's) respective stake (as a courtesy for saving their life) and probably Le Chiffre's stake too (it's very important that governments can reclaim money misappropriated by terrorists and put it to non-malevolent uses). Then the winner is put into some kind of protected witness program pending further investigation (and action against) Quantum, to save them from the risk of getting tortured all over again for the remaining money.

[[folder: Le Chiffre's Stockbroker]]

[[folder: Le Chiffre's Plan]]

[[folder: Ignoring the Obvious]]

->''"Un banco de trente deux millons"''

[[folder: Mollako's suitability as an airport bomber]]

** If most of the players are just ordinary, wealthy poker players and one of them beats Le Chiffre, then he probably abducts them and tortures them for their passcode and account number just as he did to Bond. Leiter and Bond had both better move fast to intervene here because they are probably the only two who can withstand his torture, any other individual around that table is a lot more likely to break and fast at that. If they arrest or kill him (preferably the former) then perhaps the [=CIA=] or [=MI6=] is happy to let the winner take most of the pooled funds, minus their (that is, the spy agency's) respective stake (as a courtesy for saving their life) and probably Le Chiffre's stake too (it's very important that governments can reclaim money misappropriated by terrorists and put it to non-malevolent uses). Then the winner is put into some kind of protected witness program pending further investigation (and action against) Quantum, to save them from the risk of getting tortured all over again for the remaining money.

* It's established that Mollako was the original hired gun who was intended to blow up the Skyfleet airliner. But look at the guy. He's covered in facial scarring (maybe on his body too but we don't see under his clothes) from previous explosions. There's no way he could pass as a cop to bypass airport security and enact the plot; there would be all kinds of red flags just when he went through the metal detector checkpoint. In a post 9/11 environment, there's just no chance. What was Le Chiffre thinking? By contrast, Carlos is played by a Mediterranean actor with no scars at all, who can ''way'' more easily blend in at Miami International.

*** It would seem that Bond would be out of luck entirely in this situation, as Madagascar is a non-extradition country.

*** Also- as seen in the novel ''Literautre/{{Moonraker}}'' - M was not averse to some games of chance in his spare time too...

** I imagine they just do it for fun, and the higher-ups at [=MI6=] asked around when gambling became part of the mission.

** As a member of the secret service, Bond would face regular vetting, at least part of which would focus on his finances. So there'd be a lot of a conversations along the lines of "Does Bond gamble a lot? Yes, but don't worry about his finances, he always wins".

** By the time M mentions that he's [=MI6=]'s best poker player, we have already seen him win ''an Aston Martin'' in a poker game (and that was only wagered after Dimitrios had lost all of his money to Bond). M is doubtless aware of this.

** Hyperbole. MI-6 have probably not conducted exhaustive contests and testing to verify that Bond is literally the best card shark in the service; they just happen to know he's bloody good at playing poker, and are using a bit of exaggeration for the purposes of simplification / soft-soaping.

** In addition to everything above, the guy only said that two kill is ''a'' requirement for 00 status; he never said it was the ''only'' requirement. There are probably a bunch of other tests you have to pass (which Bond must have done offscreen). And even those "two kills" might be particular kinds of kills, for instance kills with a certain degree of difficulty or importance, accomplished in a way that shows off your skills. (For instance, it might be required that you avoid injuring yourself too badly while you kill these people; you're not much use to MI-6 if you're going to end up in a wheelchair for six months every time you get back from a mission.) In this case, Bond's first "official 00 kill" was against a skilled fighter and his second kill was an important target (and he also demonstrated enough foresight to unload the guy's gun in advance).

** In addition to everything above, the guy only said that two kill is ''a'' requirement for 00 status; he never said it was the ''only'' requirement. There are probably a bunch of other tests you have to pass (which Bond must have done offscreen). And even those "two kills" might be particular kinds of kills, for instance kills with a certain degree of difficulty or importance, accomplished in a way that shows off your skills. (For instance, it might be required that you avoid injuring yourself too badly while you kill these people; you're not much use to MI6 if you're going to end up in a wheelchair for six months every time you get back from a mission.)

* The scene simply doesn't make sense. M is nothing more than the title of the head of MI6, the Bond universe's equivalent of the real-life C; it's ''just barely'' conceivable that Bond doesn't realise that...but it puts his intelligence and awareness on about the level of a child who thinks their dad's name is "Dad". Moreover, M's identity has never been treated as a secret before or since. In fact, every actor to play Bond has had their name revealed: in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' Bernard Lee's M is addressed as "Miles", indicating that he has the same name as Fleming's M, Sir Miles Messervy; depending on which theory you prefer, Robert Brown either continued to play Miles Messervy, or was his previous character, Admiral Hargreaves, in a new position; Dame Judi Dench played Barbara Mawdsley in the Brosnan era and Olivia Mansfield in the Craig era, and ''Film/Skyfall'' actually depicts public servant Gareth Mallory taking over as M. The entire process of Mallory becoming M would be impossible if the identity of M were a secret (past films and books have also hinted or outright depicted that M is, at least partially, a political position/appointment).

* How did Bond so quickly go from an agent with "no kills", as he is described in the ActionPrologue, to the ruthlessly effective- we might even say "brutally" effective- killer he is only a little later? In real life, killing just two men doesn't transform most people that completely- and Bond clearly has experience doing what he does. It is almost inconceivable that he has never killed anyone before. Also, in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', we see that field agents like Eve are ordered to shoot people in the line of duty- and if she had killed Patrice, it would not have implied that she was halfway to "00" status herself. So, what exactly does the "License To Kill" or "00" status mean?
** "00" agents in this mythology must be the ones who carry out assassinations for MI-6, as opposed to killing in self-defense or combat operations (obviously, you couldn't forbid a non-"00" to kill an enemy that was trying to kill him!). ''That'' must be the meaning of "kills" in the prologue; premeditated, targeted assassinations. It would also account for some of the disparities in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', where Bond is portrayed as a long-service agent, only 2 films after ''Casino Royale''. So, Bond was already an experienced field operative before the events of the film, and had killed enemies in combat or self-defense, "in the rough and tumble of it" as it were; he just hadn't been sent on an assassination contract yet. It was his long experience that ''qualified'' him to be sent on an assassination- 'M' would hardly send a rookie, would she? And once you're a "00", with a license to kill, maybe you get to decide who needs to be assassinated on your own and tell 'M' about it afterwards? Which would be why MI-6 is so careful about promoting "00"s in the first place- because, as we see with Bond, once they have a license to kill, they may use it even when you don't want them to.

* Yes, he's ex-SBS. You don't get that far without killing people in the regular British Military, let alone [=MI6=]. However in SBS they might have to do targeted assassinations... how this fits in with your theory I don't know.
** Your point is well taken. But the Special Boat Squadron works in teams. A 00 agent works alone. I think that's the essential difference.
* I assumed that "two kills" meant assassinations (i.e. the people he may have killed in the SBS or in self defence on prior missions don't count) and that 00 agents aren't automatically promoted for getting two kills, rather they're the "best of the best" who are called in for the most important missions and given a lot more leeway to act on their own without being babysat.
** Pretty much this. To qualify as a professional assassin, Bond has to demonstrate that he can actually ''assassinate'' someone -- which is different from killing someone in the field of combat or in self-defence.
*** Also note how the assassination was carried out. It was face to face. It wasn't long distance. That may be part of it as well.

** ''*puts on [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Doyle]] hat*'' It's, I think, also a nod to the audience that M's name will never be revealed in the canon. Much like how 'WesternAnimation/'TheSimpsons'' keeps reminding us that we [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield still don't know where Springfield is]].

How did Bond so quickly go from an agent with "no kills", as he is described in the ActionPrologue, to the ruthlessly effective- we might even say "brutally" effective- killer he is only a little later? In real life, killing just 2 men doesn't transform most people that completely- and Bond clearly has experience doing what he does. It is almost inconceivable that he has never killed anyone before. Also, in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', we see that field agents like Eve are ordered to shoot people in the line of duty- and if she had killed Patrice, it would not have implied that she was halfway to "00" status herself. So, what exactly does the "License To Kill" or "00" status mean?

"00" agents in this mythology must be the ones who carry out assassinations for MI-6, as opposed to killing in self-defense or combat operations (obviously, you couldn't forbid a non-"00" to kill an enemy that was trying to kill him!). ''That'' must be the meaning of "kills" in the prologue; premeditated, targeted assassinations. It would also account for some of the disparities in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', where Bond is portrayed as a long-service agent, only 2 films after ''Casino Royale''. So, Bond was already an experienced field operative before the events of the film, and had killed enemies in combat or self-defense, "in the rough and tumble of it" as it were; he just hadn't been sent on an assassination contract yet. It was his long experience that ''qualified'' him to be sent on an assassination- 'M' would hardly send a rookie, would she? And once you're a "00", with a license to kill, maybe you get to decide who needs to be assassinated on your own and tell 'M' about it afterwards? Which would be why MI-6 is so careful about promoting "00"s in the first place- because, as we see with Bond, once they have a license to kill, they may use it even when you don't want them to.

*** When that girl is the stunning Eva Green in a jaw-dropping dress, [[RuleOfSexy the answer is a resounding yes.]]

* I really don't get why [=MI6=], after deciding to put Vesper in control of the money used in the game, didn't do a background check on her. If they had, they would have noticed that her boyfriend/fiance (I forget which) had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom. They probably would have realized that she was a weak link (as that fact could be used to manipulate her) and had her removed in favor of someone else. M does a HandWave by lamely stating that they sometimes get so focused on their enemies they forget to check on their friends. That's a weaksauce excuse and she knows it. M and [=MI6=] really do not come out of this movie looking too smart.

** It's explained in ''Quantum of Solace'': her boyfriend had not actually been kidnapped; he'd been a Quantum agent all along. The background check would have revealed nothing as nobody except Vesper knew this 'kidnapping' even existed.

** As a member of the secret service, Bond would face regular vetting, at least part of which would focus on his finances. So there'd be a lot of a conversations along the lines of 'Does Bond gamble a lot? Yes, but don't worry about his finances, he always wins'
** In the book version its because Bond had had a prior mission that required him to work in a casino, so the Service had actually paid to send Bond for lessons with a professional card-sharp. Between that and the part where regular high-stakes gambling (that he doesn't go broke doing) would show up on his background checks, its entirely explainable.
*** Also- as seen in the “book version” of Moonraker- M was not averse to some games of chance in his spare time too...

** ''*puts on [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Doyle]] hat*'' It's, I think, also a nod to the audience that M's name will never be revealed in the canon. Much like how ''TheSimpsons'' keeps reminding us that we [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield still don't know where Springfield is]].

* In the final hand of the poker game, James goes all in, along with Le Chiffre and two others. Yet they clearly are all holding different amounts of chips. Bond takes everyone out in a single hand, which means he was the chip leader, which in turn means he literally ''can't'' go all in - he can only match the next-highest better. Furthermore, everything is put into the main pot. There should be two side-pots since you can only win an amount from each better equal to what you put in. This is obviously Main/ArtisticLicense since it would be [[{{Unintelligiball}} more complicated]] to explain all that than to just have everyone go all in (not to mention Main/RuleOfDrama since it's more suspenseful if we think Bond might lose everything), but it makes any actual poker players scratch their heads.

* All right, this has been bugging me for ages now. What the ruddy ''hell'' does the song at the beginning of ''Casino Royale'' have to do with James Bond? What angels has he seen, who is he replacing, and what merciless eyes has he deceived?

*** Here's an extra-pretentious theory: the song is being sung by Bond (the character, the abstract concept) to Daniel Craig the actor. Basically: you're not the first to play me, you won't be the last, and this job's broken stronger men/actors than you. The "prize" is the instant fame and fortune that comes with being a successful Bond; "death", the NeverLiveItDown that comes from a ''Moonraker'' or ''Die Another Day''.

* What DID happen to Felix Leiter stepping in to take out Le Chiffre? I understand that Mathis might have done something, but as of ''Quantum of Solace'', he's innocent. Felix isn't dead either, as per Quantum of Solace. What happened?

** Just so he could further mess with Bond's head? (Proving that Bond Villan Monologues could also be lies) Although . . . if Mathis is innocent all along, who told Le Chiffre about where to find the implanted Microchip?

*** But Bond's agreement with Leiter is to be bankrolled by the CIA back into the tournament (and MI6 can keep the winnings), in exchange for the CIA being able to arrest him when he loses. Somehow though, he escapes and "kidnaps" Vesper to try to steal the money back from Bond. This in itself is worthy of it's own headscratcher... watch this space.

* Why Le Chiffre lies [[spoiler: about Mathis working for him ? ]]

* Le Chiffre has just cleaned out Bond and only needs 8 million more. When Bond suddenly ''banco''s the 32 million stake, Le Chiffre tries to have him killed. Why didn't Le Chiffre withdraw his 32 million bet before then and start over? Does baccarat not work that way? Or was it {{Pride}}?

[[folder:The Baccarat game]]

* Le Chiffre has just cleaned out Bond and only needs 8 million more. When Bond suddenly ''banco''s the 32 million stake, Le Chiffre tries to have him killed. Why didn't Le Chiffre withdraw his 32 million bet before then and start over? Does Baccarat not work that way? Or was it {{Pride}}?

->''"Un banco de treite deux millons"''

* Le Chiffre has just cleaned out Bond and only needs 8 million more. When Bond ''banco''s the 32 million stake, Le Chiffre tries to have him killed. Why didn't Le Chiffre withdraw his 32 million bet before then and start over? Does Baccarat not work that way? Or was it {{Pride}}?