Originally posted by: C3PX

Originally posted by: GoodMusician

Sorry... I always saw Casino Royal as a separate take on Bond... I didn't see it as bad, but I've never read the book and knowing that it was written years ago... there is no way that movie was even loosely based on it...

Actually, Casino Royale is amazingly similiar to the novel on which it is based. I would almost go as far to say that it is one of the closest book to film adaptions I have seen in a long time.

C3PX is correct. Casino Royale is by far the closest 007 book-to-film adaptation. Most of the others are almost unrecognizable compared to the novels they take their names from.

For the record - I've been a 007 nerd since I was a kid. Saw my first Bond film in the theaters in 1973 - Live and Let Die. I was hooked instantly. I've seen them all more times than I can count, own the complete DVD set, have most of the soundtracks, post on a 007 forum, etc, etc.

For me, Casino Royale is far and away the best Bond film there has ever been. It's the Bond film I had always wanted to see. It's realistic, serious, and a believable story. It's a back-to-basics spy film, not gadget-laden silliness, with bad acting, caricature bad guys, and over-the-top comic relief - "he always did have an over inflated opinion of himself" - "I believe he's attempting re-entry, sir" - "now pay attention 007". No villains pressing the hidden foot pedal to open the trap door under "number 11" so that she falls into the Piranha tank. No villains operating from a secret base hidden inside a volcano.