Casino Royale

James Bond is undoubtedly one of the most iconic characters in all of fiction. Based on a series of novels by Ian Fleming, ever since the 60s our theaters have never been long without a sharply dressed, smooth-talking womanizer saving the world from all manner of eccentric criminals and sinister clandestine organizations. Despite being British through and through, James Bond’s appeal has spread to all corners of the world with his quirky gadgets, witty quips, and-how shall I put this?-strained relationship with what international subterfuge actually looks like. Every generation has had their own Bond, and his canon, tone, and cast of characters has remained remarkably consistent across his nearly three-quarters-of-a-century run, and since Nathan recently decided to see what all the cultural fuss was about, we’ve decided to take a look at the inception of our own incarnation of James Bond with 2006’s Martin Campbell directed Casino Royale. Casino Royale acted as a kind of soft reboot for the character, taking him back to his first big mission against an evil, uh, accountant, in the intense, action packed arena of . . . um, a high-stakes poker game in a private hotel lounge. Thrilling stuff. Anyhoo, shake those martinis and straighten those bow ties because Magellans at the Movies are going in. What’s that? Do I expect you to have read this entire thing? No, listener, I expect you to have gotten bored and started the episode!