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It is better not to think of this film as an official Bond film, because even if it was meant to be, it doesn't feel like one. If anything, it feels like a disjointed spy caper and as a spoof it is one with pluses and minuses.
Casino Royale does have its good points. The locations, costumes, photography and Bond girls look wonderful, even if the editing isn't as good. The music is rousing enough with a brilliant song sung by Dusty Springfield, the opening and closing sequences are memorable, the idea is great, there are some funny bits and there is a great cast, although the performances themselves are uneven. David Niven is amusing, Orson Welles is a good find, Ursula Andress is very sexy and beautiful and Woody Allen provides some of the more funnier moments though these moments are almost too brief to savour properly.
The rest of the cast don't give bad performances or anything, but the material they got should have been better. Peter Sellers's talents in my opinion are not put to good use, there are times when he is funny but there are other times where he does little more than ad libs and he does overdo it occasionally, while some of the cameos are wasted and that includes John Huston as M, who coincidentally is one of the directors of Casino Royale.
What hurt Casino Royale though was the length and the pace. It was much too long and there are some parts that move along at a snail's pace. The film also feels bloated, there are too many characters and the film should have had about three less directors than it did. The film does start off well, but then it becomes very silly, overblown and pointless. The script is weak, with the occasional funny moment outweighed by the too silly, unfunny moment sadly, while the plot meanders all over the place and is very hard to follow and the action while not bad is rather overblown.
Overall, I can see why Casino Royale is seen as a love it/hate it movie. As for me, I had very mixed feelings on this film, and while not terrible, it is disjointed and bloated that is saved by the production values, music and some of the cast. 5/10 Bethany Cox
5/10
