Casino Royale (1967)
When I said James Bond was ready to be taken into new hands after Thunderball this is not what I meant... 1967's Casino Royale is the first James Bond film to be made outside of Eon Productions almost being made as a reaction to the Eon Films which had turned James Bond into the sexy playboy most now look at the character as. Casino Royale tries to class the character of James Bond up with David Niven taking over the main role of James Bond. In the battle with SMERSH though it has been deemed that Sir James Bond wouldn't be the only one carrying the name as it has been decided that every agent will become James Bond to confuse the enemy. Casino Royale follows their missions against SMERSH creating an overly long and confusing story that was easily the hardest film to get through of the franchise so far.
The tone of the film is the first thing to stick out like a sore thumb as just being all over the place. At first with the film condoning the other style of the Bond films at the time and seemingly committing to a more serious spy adventure actually was intriguing, where it isn't what Bond is known for having a seriously good movie is never a bad thing which is the reason a film like To Russia With Love stuck out so much against the early Bond films. Yet quickly they backtrack this new direction adding the elements of the Eon Productions Bond films into the film and playing the contrast between them and Sir James Bond for comedy. The film wants to stand out but fails to actually commit to a different idea just becoming a lesser version of the other Bond films of the era. Speaking of comedy this is the main thing that feels different about the film, instead of the more adult wittiness and one-liners that the Eon Productions Bond films embrace this tries to go a more family-friendly route using more physical and over the top humor that sadly never lands. The humor isn't funny and it isn't cool, instead it just feels boring.
This is complemented by the plot which is extremely hard to follow and uninteresting. Quickly the film loses its focus creating character motivations and goals that never fully feel understood or explored with the film choosing to embrace weak comedy over actually building a plot. With the weakly connected plots as we jump from agent to agent, the film also feels horribly underdeveloped and like a series of vignettes rather than a well-built film. The plot being boring and uninteresting is all the more frustrating considering the quality of the cast this film had. Ranging from Peter Sellers to Orson Welles there are some really great actors here but the dialogue and plot they are fed make them an absolute bore to watch.
On paper, this film had all the elements to be something unique and interesting but at every point makes the worst choice it can. The film has absolutely no idea what it is trying to be and ends up being a boring mess of a film. By 15 minutes in I had a constant eye on the clock as I simply was waiting for the film to end. At no point did I felt invested in a story or side this movie has to offer. If you are trying to see all the Bond films take advantage of this not being an official Eon Production and avoid this at all costs, it's painful and lackluster in pretty much every way imaginable.
On paper, this film had all the elements to be something unique and interesting but at every point makes the worst choice it can. The film has absolutely no idea what it is trying to be and ends up being a boring mess of a film. By 15 minutes in I had a constant eye on the clock as I simply was waiting for the film to end. At no point did I felt invested in a story or side this movie has to offer. If you are trying to see all the Bond films take advantage of this not being an official Eon Production and avoid this at all costs, it's painful and lackluster in pretty much every way imaginable.