Casino Royale is my current favourite: the first Daniel Craig movie, and full of all the greatest Bond-isms (high-stakes gambling, beautiful heroes and heroines, deformed villains, violence and guns, international intrigue, fast cars, exotic locations, stunning title sequence) without any of the fluff (Moneypenny, silly gadgets, cheesy one-liners, overt misogyny). I’ve loved the series of films since I was a kid, and I’ve been lucky that as my critical awareness has developed, so has the franchise. When it comes to Bond, I’m a long-time watcher, first-time reader. Then the soul-erosion produced by high gambling – a compost of greed and fear and nervous tension – becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it.
The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.
