Serving as the British government's 'money' and eyes and ears on Bond is Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). MI6 then hopes to bring Le Chiffre in so that he will roll over on his terrorist allies. Bond is the best cardplayer in the service so his boss, M (Judi Dench, the sole holdover from the Brosnan era), assigns him to beat Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre intends to win back his losses in a high-stakes poker tournament at the titular casino in Montenegro. After 007 foils Le Chiffre's latest scheme to bilk the stock market using his clients' money, the villain must win back over $100 million before his clients catch up and kill him. The trail leads the arrogant Bond to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), an enigmatic math genius, gambler and banker to the world's terrorists.

Newly minted 00 agent James Bond (Daniel Craig, more on him later) pursues the powers-that-be behind a bomber-for-hire he killed in a very controversial embassy battle. Despite what some critics have said, the plot to Casino Royale is relatively simple.

Working from a screenplay adaptation by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Oscar winner Paul Haggis, Campbell's film is a lean, mean thriller about a killer being cultivated into a gentleman spy and the emotional and spiritual toll that transformation takes on him.

Campbell has made perhaps his best feature film to date here.

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