As a comedy/satire of 007, "Casino Royale" doesn't work. A lot of the gags fall flat and there is no coherence to the story whatsoever (the result of five directors credited, and God only knows how many other uncredited directors and screenwriters etc.) Even Peter Sellers, the last great comic genius there ever was doesn't generate one tenth of the laughs he normally does (Woody Allen though, is perfect and hilarious. He should have had more screen time).
So why then do I keep watching this film anyway? Only because "Casino Royale" is one of the most fascinating curios of 1960s psychedelia I've ever seen. What it lacks in wit, it more than compensates with eyepopping sets, FX, women etc. that at least keeps you fascinated (maybe like a train wreck) if not laughing all the time. If one isn't interested in cultural nostalgia though, "Casino Royale" is pretty much a waste of time. Without that dimension, the film is nothing.
A couple trivia notes. Angela Scoular, one of M's "daughters" turned up in the next legit Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as one of Blofeld's patients. David Niven, the "real" Bond had also been on Albert Broccoli's and Harry Saltzman's wish list of big name stars when they first planned the Bond series, since they saw Niven as the ultimate embodiment of the way Ian Fleming described 007.
So why then do I keep watching this film anyway? Only because "Casino Royale" is one of the most fascinating curios of 1960s psychedelia I've ever seen. What it lacks in wit, it more than compensates with eyepopping sets, FX, women etc. that at least keeps you fascinated (maybe like a train wreck) if not laughing all the time. If one isn't interested in cultural nostalgia though, "Casino Royale" is pretty much a waste of time. Without that dimension, the film is nothing.
A couple trivia notes. Angela Scoular, one of M's "daughters" turned up in the next legit Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as one of Blofeld's patients. David Niven, the "real" Bond had also been on Albert Broccoli's and Harry Saltzman's wish list of big name stars when they first planned the Bond series, since they saw Niven as the ultimate embodiment of the way Ian Fleming described 007.