Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
66
Bandslam
45
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
29
Collector, The
23
Couples Retreat
80
District 9
61
Extract
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
60
Funny People
32
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
27
Gamer
41
G-Force
39
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
55
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
51
My Sister's Keeper
42
Orphan
28
Pandorum
63
Perfect Getaway, A
86
Ponyo![]()
35
Post Grad
48
Proposal, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
24
Sorority Row
83
Star Trek![]()
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
55
Taking Woodstock
47
Time Traveler's Wife
96
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D![]()
35
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
28
Ugly Truth, The
88
Up![]()
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
72
Adela
39
Adventures of Power
78
Afghan Star
61
After the Storm
66
Afterschool
xx
All the Best
58
American Casino
72
Amreeka
48
Antichrist
73
Araya
62
Art & Copy
55
As Seen Through These Eyes
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
13
Beautiful Life, A
70
Beeswax
35
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71
Big Fan
66
Black Dynamite
51
Blind Date
xx
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76
Bliss
35
Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57
Boys Are Back, The
45
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
70
Bronson
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
55
Casi Divas
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
59
Collapse
44
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
67
Departures
xx
Dil Bole Hadippa
71
Disgrace
xx
Do Knot Disturb
70
Earth Days
24
Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
xx
Eulogy for a Vampire
xx
Everyone Else
xx
Fatal Promises
56
Fifty Dead Men Walking
62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
64
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
Heretics, The
63
Horse Boy, The
73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
Hurt Locker, The![]()
29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
Laila's Birthday
41
Little Ashes
41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
Maid, The![]()
xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Casino Royale
EMAILPRINTColumbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Universal acclaim
Based on 38 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 488 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Neal Purvis
Robert Wade
Paul Haggis
Ian Fleming (novel)
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 17, 2006
DVD: March 13, 2007
Running Time: 144 minutes, B/W / Color
Origin: USA / UK / Czech Republic
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity
Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, and Simon Abkarian
Published in 1953, Casino Royale was the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming. The film, starring Daniel Craig as the legendary 007, introduces audiences to James Bond before he holds his license to kill and proceeds with a high-stakes adventure.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Beyond Borders GoldenEye Quantum of Solace The Legend of Zorro The Mask of Zorro Vertical Limit
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Relaunches the series by doing something I wouldn't have thought possible: It turns Bond into a human being again -- a gruffly charming yet volatile chap who may be the swank king stud of the Western world, but who still has room for rage, fear, vulnerability, love.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This movie is NEW from the get-go. It could be your first Bond. In fact, it was the first Bond; it was Ian Fleming's first 007 novel, and he was still discovering who the character was.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The script updates Ian Fleming's first Bond novel to a post-9/11 world and scales back the silliness that always seems to creep into the series; director Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro) contributes some superior action set pieces but keeps the camp and gadgetry to a minimum.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
What's appealing about Bond is precisely its unhip classicism -- its promise of clean, crisp excitement delivered without the interference of whiplash-inducing camera pyrotechnics, attention-deficient editing patterns, gratuitous color tinting and/or ear-splitting rock ballads.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
Craig, excellent in both art house endeavors (The Mother, Enduring Love) and blockbuster think pieces (Munich), has both a nasty streak and a soft side never before seen in the series; Fleming would recognize him as most like his literary creation: damaged goods in a tailored tux.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
This is Bond as we've never seen him, more naked, alive and mysterious than ever.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Casino Royale is quite possibly the best action movie of the year.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
This is no longer the James Bond we know from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Welcome to the new world of MI6's most storied agent.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Fans of anyone other than Sean Connery who has played James Bond may want to look away, because admirers of Ian Fleming's 007 novels are almost bound to agree that Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Sean.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Craig gives us James Bond in the fascinating act of inventing himself. This you do not want to miss.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Eleven years ago director Campbell made "GoldenEye," the first of the Brosnan Bond pictures. Casino Royale trumps it every which way.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Craig makes you aware of something that the Bond series, in its pursuit of steamy sex and cartoon action, quickly lost sight of: 007 is a killer. That's what he's licensed to do.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
The latest James Bond vehicle -- call him Bond, Bond 6.0 -- finds the British spy leaner, meaner and a whole lot darker.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Turns out to be cracking good entertainment, as well as a fresh start for the perdurable 21-picture franchise.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Daniel Craig isn't merely acceptable, but formidable. His Bond is at least the equal of the best ones before him, and beats all of them in sheer intensity.
Slate Dana Stevens
Martin Campbell (who also directed Pierce Brosnan's first outing as Bond in "Goldeneye"), has chosen to give us a Bond who's both metaphorically and literally stripped bare. Let me take this opportunity to thank him for both.
Read Full Review >Empire Kim Newman
Contrary to pre-release nay-sayers, Daniel Craig has done more with James Bond in one film than some previous stars have in multiple reprises. This is terrific stuff, again positioning 007 as the action franchise to beat.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
What a relief to escape the series' increasing bondage to high-tech gimmicks in favor of intrigue and suspense featuring richly nuanced characters and women who think the body's sexiest organ is the brain.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Craig comes closer to the author's original conception of this exceptionally long-lived male fantasy figure than anyone since early Sean Connery.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
This Bond is haunted, not yet housebroken, still figuring out the persona. In Casino Royale, the reset button has been pressed in the manner of "Batman Begins."
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
The good news is Craig, who was riveting as a London pharmaceutical salesman in the recent Brit import "Layer Cake," is equally mesmerizing here.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Casino Royale marks a shrewd relaunching of a franchise. But Campbell and company show too much of their sweat. If these movies continue to follow Fleming's profane pilgrim's progress, the next Bond movies should be more emotional and funny, with a bit of brass-knuckled charm.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
As M, Dench knows she has a tiger by the tail and isn't fazed in the slightest. Reservations aside, the film marks the beginning of a new phase in James Bond's history, and it promises to be a gripping one.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
If you miss the old cliches, consider whether, after 21 Bond films and countless parodies, your response is simply Pavlovian.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
See Casino Royale for a Bond you've never seen before, and then imagine him in a film two-thirds the size. Here's hoping the writers of the next Bond movie employ the same personal trainer that Craig did to keep the script tight and lean.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The payoff is the revitalization of Bond by making him closer to what Fleming envisaged: a sociopath who, fortunately, is on our side.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The film is about a half hour too long. The third act drags and an extended high-stakes poker game doesn't always keep our attention. But this is a superior Bond.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Like Connery - but in different proportions - Craig is earthy and erotic, holding himself like a smoking gun.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
For the first time in memory, the film ends not just with the promise of more Bonds but without a firm conclusion.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
In its overt attempts to balance high-spirited spy adventure with more realistic acting and actio--conveying the realities of government-sponsored murde--Casino Royale is a step in the right direction for the Bond franchise. But it's a small, tentative step.
Read Full Review >Premiere Jessica Letkemann
Surprisingly light on fab gadgets, there are, of course, double crosses, fast cars, and lots of gunplay.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Though the film's final break-the-bank action sequence in Venice is worth waiting for, Casino Royale's 2-hour, 24-minute running time is long enough to exhaust all but the series' biggest fans.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
Craig has the courage to present a hollow man, flooding the empty rooms where his better nature should be with brutality and threat. His smile is more frightening than his straight face, and he doesn’t bother with the throwaway quips that were meant to endear us to the other Bonds.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 488 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
james w gave it a10:
The bond franchise has needed an overhaul for years, and Daniel Craig is the perfect engine. much closer to how Fleming envisioned bond in his books. an assassin, who does his job, without remorse. the first time bond has been portrayed on screen faithfully to Ian Flemming's original vision , bravo Daniel Craig, bravo !!!!
Bill w gave it a10:
One of the best James bond movies. I love the plot, Daniel are very cool and i think he is the real James bond.
Nilram N. gave it a0:
Plot was Choppy hard to follow. How could Bond have Just been promoted?????? that is on of the many things in this film that Bothered me. Craig was way to serious and without emotion. In Jokes if there were any were hard to catch. Hated it. wont be watching the next one till it makes it to TV....I wont Pay to see this crap again..not even on DVD.
Robert B gave it a9:
Great movie! Best Bond in a long time. This is how Bond should be.
Anthony F gave it a7:
Casino Royale is the film the producers wanted to do for so long. I want to say "too little to late" to them because James Bond is a cold war relic. Now that they've changed him into something different may not be easy to deal with by some fans. It will be hard for me to deal with but I still enjoyed the film before it last half-hour, which is a murky mess. Kudos to Craig for playing Bond so well.
Andrew P gave it a0:
A James Bond film is a classy spy movie with a lot of action and story, but not too much of either to make it unbalanced. Casino Royale is a poker movie. Think about it. It starts with some talking, then there's a (very cool) action scene, then...poker. And more poker. And even more poker. Then there's that scene when bond gets poisoned and nearly dies, and then more poker. The over involved plot doesn't have to do with bond taking out the bad guy as normal, instead he has to make him bankrupt in a, no joke here, game of high stakes poker. I think what really does it for me is seeing bond striped naked, tied to a chair, and whipped repeatedly in the area a man does not want to be whipped in. And he doesn't use his whits or cunning to escape, but instead he has to be rescued. Its just insulting. Also, no Q means no cool gadgets. Bond, the franchise that first had the idea of equipping spys with ultra high tech gadgets, suddenly has no gadgets. Personally, when i think bond, two of the first things that come to mind are the laser watch and the Aston with missiles under the head lights and now both of these icons are gone. Its just sad. This movie left me with a hollow, empty feeling that made me go back and watch one of the twenty superior bond films. No charm. No heart. No soul. 0 out of 10.
Dave gave it a1:
Stupid. Boring. Sadistic. Implausible. Charmless. Illogical. Cheesy. Lame. Impossible, etc etc Personally i think we should nuke the earth, maybe a better species than humans will evolve, and movies like this never get past the moronic script stage.
