Craig’s Bond is just as smooth as his predecessors, but there’s a harder edge to him that makes Casino Royale a far more satisfying action movie than previous instalments. Whisper it, but some say he’s a better fit for the role than even the legendary Sean Connery was. With that in mind, the time was ripe for Bond to be reborn, and Eon found its golden boy in Daniel Craig. Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough were serviceable action movies, but Die Another Day was a truly execrable offering. While Pierce Brosnan had revitalised the ailing series with the suave, likeable GoldenEye, his subsequent outings as Bond lacked that movie’s instant charm.

In the years leading up to the release of Casino Royale, the James Bond franchise had lost its way a little. You’d be amazed how much this can enhance the viewing experience! Try putting up some casino-themed decorations around the house, and fire up a casino site like .uk to play some casino favourites. If you’re setting up a Casino Royale watch party – which we highly recommend you do – then it can be fun to try and recreate the casino ambience yourself.

The glitz and glamour also match Bond’s slick, smooth aesthetic, and this proved to be the case in Casino Royale. Poker is the obvious choice as participants watch one another for tells, so can Bond watch his opponents to see if their masks slip and they reveal themselves as his enemies. If you want to tell a story about espionage, there are few places better to set that story than a casino. Here’s why Casino Royale is still the best Bond movie.Ĭasinos are an inherently exciting setting Skyfall is a more effective celebration of the franchise in its entirety, and Spectre may boast more flamboyant setpieces, but Casino Royale integrates everything fans love about Bond into a package that’s easier to swallow if you have no taste for the over-the-top antics of Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan. To this day, Casino Royale remains the best James Bond movie, despite a host of contenders for that throne. Die Another Day’s invisible car was so poorly-received that it led indirectly to the franchise’s rebirth in 2006’s Casino Royale, which recast Bond in the Bourne mould gritty, edgy, and grounded in reality. The highs – Skyfall, Goldfinger, GoldenEye – are incredible, while the lows are excruciating. The James Bond franchise is the very definition of variable quality.

07 Casino Royale