Casino Royale: Heightened emotions and vulnerability

I knew it was only a matter of time before the dashing Daniel Craig was set to take on the James Bond role in class. Like some have already mentioned, he’s pretty different physically from the other Bonds we’ve encountered. However, his build and strength reminds me a lot of Sean Connery and that might be why I find myself so attracted it him. It could also be that he possesses a quality we haven’t seen in the other Bond incarnations: he genuinely learns to care for and love Vesper.

The scene when he’s just walked in on Vesper having a complete emotional breakdown while sitting fully-clothed in the shower just about broke my heart. His emotional compass isn’t quite what we’ve seen before. It doesn’t take having sex with a woman for him to want to spend more time or become emotionally attached to her. Here, Bond puts whatever he’s thinking or feeling aside to comfort Vesper and ensure she’s cared for. I did wonder what Vesper’s actual role was, though. In the novel she’s an actual agent, but she sort of just shows up on Mathis’ arm without an introduction in the movie version. If she’s supposed to be an agent, all I can say is she’s a crappy one. I would think that someone who’s experienced wouldn’t break down at the thought of Bond killing two other men mostly out of self defense.

Maybe it’s because we’re seeing the beginning of Bond’s career as a 00 agent that I’m picking up on these huge emotional differences in the actors’ portrayals. I mean, Bond handed in his resignation notice to M and was ready to leave the service and start a life with Vesper. Granted, he’s willing to do this in the book too, but he doesn’t actually go through with it. Casino Royale also points out that Bond isn’t invincible. He’s constantly battered and bruised and scratches line his face. At one point, he literally dies from being poisoned and is only saved at the last minute by Vesper. After watching several of these films already, I’d forgotten exactly what Bond was: a human. He makes mistakes by trusting and loving the wrong people and is susceptible to injury and death just like the rest of us.