Casino Royale (1967) * Weird & Wacky *

Looks like Bond...
.

Bond: David Niven as Sir James Bond, who takes over M's role (My Man Godfrey • The Pink Panther)
Field Bond: Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangelove • Revenge of the Pink Panther)

Bond Girl: Vesper Lynd  Played By: Ursula Andress (Clash of the Titans • Dr. No)
Bond Villain: Le Chiffre  Played By: Orson Welles (Citizen Kane • The Third Man)

Genre: Comedy Action Adventure (USA, UK)

Directed By: According to the opening credits, John Huston (The Maltese Falcon • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
According to IMDb there's also: 
Val Guest, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish and Richard Talmadge

Overview: When spies from all over the world are getting assassinated, Sir James Bond, Superspy extraordinaire is asked to come out of retirement to help. He reluctantly agrees to lead MI6 and several agents named James Bond in an operation to overthrow Le Chiffre, an agent of SMERCH with a penchant for baccarat.

Now if you take a moment to read the details above, you'll find them just a little confusing - several credited Bonds, more credited directors… Orson Welles - and before this review has even begun, the essence of Casino Royale, spoof of the original novel, has already been captured.

Not having yet seen "Bond 21", I was lucky enough to have guests who had indeed seen the 2006 Daniel Craig version and after almost an hour in, the plot of the original novel was still nowhere to be seen. Instead, what we are given is a purely fictional rendition. Instead of this being Bond's first mission, James is a rich, retired knighted eccentric. Representatives from the British, French, American, and Russian Secret Services visit him in hopes that he will come out of retirement to end SMERCH's reign of terror. When Bond declines the offer, MI6 blows up his homes, forcing him back to work. Sadly, agent M is killed in this explosion, and before Sir James can get to any business, he visits M's Scottish widow, a hilarious caricature of a Scotswoman played by Deborah Kerr (The Innocents). From this point on, Bond is faced with traps and challenges that he easily overcomes until he decides to actually start the mission against Le Chiffre. The first phase of the mission involves selecting a group of agents who will all be named James Bond, in order to confound SMERCH, spy-killing organization extraordinaire. Other grossly explored plots clearly meant to distract the audience into oblivion include Sir James Bond reuniting with his estranged daughter, agent Cooper (one of the 6 renamed James Bonds) in his interview and training, and Woody Allen as a short, angry megalomaniac bent on world domination. When the plot actually comes into play, it lasts for about ten minutes until all hell breaks loose and Casino Royale leaves us with an ending that, in all intents and purposes, is the film pointing it's finger at us and laughing.

Here's hoping you have a good sense of humour.

Most surprising however was how frequently this spoof took itself seriously. The script was not all slapstick and idiocy, and genuinely funny on its own merit, rather than being filled with puns and Mel Brooks-grade physical comedy gags and racist accents… oh there's a couple of those actually… Though the story itself was dizzyingly fragmented, there was stuntwork and cinematography that was absolutely incredible.

No, Casino Royale will in no way be considered Bond canon, yet it won't be considered a complete waste of time either… well not by most. Whatever you do, don't go in expecting James Bond, even if there are 007 of them.

Oh! There's the plot, quick don't blink or you'll miss it!

Performance: 8 Cinematography: 9 Script: 7 Plot: 6 Mood: 7

Overall Rating: 74% (Royally Confusing)

SuperSpyStats
(not to be included in the Final Tally)

Personal bodycount: 1

Foiled Assassinations: 4

Near Misses: 0

Dames Bedded: 0

Martinis Drank: 1

What's all this?