“Spectre” Influence: “Casino Royale” (2006)

In 2006, the James Bond franchise finally brought a gritty and smart film to contrast with the jolly mayhem and silly one-liners of previous installments. “Casino Royale” stars Daniel Craig in his premier role as James Bond, a stern, cold-blooded secret agent rather than a flirty socialite, making Craig perhaps the most effective actor to bear the 007 title. The film opens with an intense parkour action scene as Bond chases an African bomb maker through a construction site. From the get-go, all of the action sequences in “Casino Royale” are riveting, filled with incredible practical stunts. Telling the story of Bond’s first mission, “Casino Royale” sets up a complex thread which runs through all four Daniel Craig 007 films, culminating in this year’s “Spectre.” After receiving a license to kill, James Bond sets out on a mission to beat Le Chiffre, a terrorist financier, in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. Le Chiffre, played by the superb Mads Mikkelsen, is not a billionaire trying to take over the world from a mountain fortress, but rather a desperate, brutal man at the end of his rope. “Casino Royale” takes so many classic Bond elements and turns them on their heads. Yet perhaps the biggest change is that Casino Royale was able to portray the agent in a way no other film did: as a vulnerable human being. As a 007 film, “Casino Royale” is all aces.

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