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Casino Royale (12A)   144 mins

Casino Royale introduces James Bond (Daniel Craig) before he holds his license to kill.  But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status.  Bond's first 007 mission takes him to Madagascar, where he is to spy on a terrorist, Mollaka.  Not everything goes to plan and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his girlfriend, Solange. He learns that Dimitrios is involved with Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), banker to the world's terrorist organizations.  Secret Service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. 'M' (Judi Dench) places Bond under the watchful eye of the beguiling Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). At first sceptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together and even torture at the hands of Le Chiffre. In Montenegro, Bond allies himself with Mathis, MI6's local field agent, and Felix Leiter, who is representing the interests of the CIA.  The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

"Daniel Craig has taken on the mantle of 007, and the result is a death-defying, sportscar-driving, female-back-fondling, cocktail-recipe-specifying triumph. Daniel Craig is a fantastic Bond, and all those whingers and nay-sayers out there in the blogosphere should hang their heads in shame."  Peter Bradshaw

"For Daniel Craig, this is a triumphant debut.  Not since early Connery have we seen a Bond this magnetic."  James Berardinelli

www.sonypictures.co.uk/movies/casinoroyale

Last modified: 06-Mar-2009

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