Kevin Fullam writesThe fourth Wall: “Casino Royale”

Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the 2006 film Casino Royale.

This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.

Clarence: 

“Bond. James Bond.”

Anyone who knows anything about film history will recognize that famous introduction. Even those who have never seen a frame of the 25 feature films on which this character is based.

I was one of them. Until a few months ago, I had never seen an entire James Bond movie in one sitting. I was familiar with many of the scenes, the one-liners, the cultural discussion of the character and the actors who played him. But not the movies themselves..

Recently, though, I’ve binge-watched all five of the Bond films featuring its most recent lead actor, Daniel Craig. I remember when he made his first Bond appearance in Casino Royale in 2006 there was controversy around how a blond-haired, blue-eyed actor, even a talented one, could pull off such an iconic role. Skeptics needn't have worried; He did, and continued to for another 15 years. 

Casino Royale is a bit of a strange entry in the Bond series. The first movie to carry that title (released in 1967) isn’t considered official canon for several reasons and was panned by critics when it first released, but it was based on the Ian Flemming novel of the same name, in which the character James Bond first appears.

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