Skyfall vs. Casino Royale

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19 comments

Minor spoilers ahead, be warned. Skyfall was fucking amazing. Great action, a (somewhat) more emotional James Bond, a phenomenal villain played by Javier Bardem (who should at least get a nomination for his role), a great soundtrack and breathtakingly beautiful cinematography. There are also a lot of references to other Bond movies which I really liked. Is it perfect? No. Q, played by Ben Whishaw, is kind of lame (maybe that was the point, who knows) and there's some confusing techno babble here and there. And there's some stuff that didn't bother me, but may bother others. The Bondgirl played by Bérénice Marlohe gets very little screentime and is a pretty useless character. The way they use CGI in this movie may also piss off some people. Imagine Live and Let Die with CGI crocodiles. Or a CGI tarantula in Dr. No. Does that piss you off? Because that is the case in this movie. It personally doesn’t bother me, but I can see people complain day and night about this (Indy 4). Another thing is that this doesn’t really feel like a Bond movie. It certainly has the ingredients for a Bond movie, yet it isn’t so much a James Bond movie as it is a movie ABOUT James Bond and an homage to James Bond. If you rather have something more straightforward, then Casino Royale may be more your cup of tea. Skyfall on the other hand has amazing, arthouse-ish qualities. I’m not saying that this an arthouse Bond movie, I’m saying that is has a couple of moments that you normally won’t see in an action movie or a Bond movie. For example, Javier Bardem gives an incredible monologue in a single shot that lasts for about a minute. That’s one of the reasons why this doesn’t really feel like a Bond movie. It’s slower, more emotional, more ‘serious’. With that said though, despite the fact that this is probably one of the ‘un-Bondiest’ Bond movies, this may just be my favorite movie in the franchise. It’s kind of hard to say right now, since I finished watching it a couple of hours ago, but it definitely belongs in my top 5 Bond movies. Highly recommended.

These are my two favourite Bond films. Period. Casino Royale wins by a nose, and for two reasons: 1) The action is slightly more frantic and intense and 2) The chemistry and scripting, particularly for Daniel Craig and Eva Green is of a standard few would have expected from any action film, let alone a Bond film. However, if Casino Royale took the Bond Franchise in a new direction, Skyfall brings it back down to Earth in style. As I said, Casino Royale may be my favourite of the two, but Skyfall is definitely the best film of 2012 so far.

So many things about Casino Royale were amazing, but EVERYTHING about Skyfall was amazing. I can't get over how much I loved this!

Skyfall delivered. No question. But it just wasn't Casino Royale for me....but damn close....

I agree with Smatticus, Casino Royale barely wins.

Smatticus must be drunk off of his ass if he genuinely means to say that the dialogue in Casino Royale is good. Bruh, the interplay between Bond and Vesper made me want to kill babies.

Eh. At least it didn't have some awkward dialogue about sand.

I loved Casino Royale but Skyfall just demolishes it on all fronts. Has there ever been a more intense climax to a Bond film? Just blown away by the action sequences. Easily the best entry in the 007 series.

Right now, my gut tells me Casino Royale is a touch better. A re-watch of both would seem to be in order (and most welcome!).

Casino Royale, but after a rewatch it might change

Casino Royale is the better movie for me right now, but it might change

I did not like Casino Royale when I first saw it in theaters, but it grew on me, at least in part because my girl friend at the time looked like Eva Green, and I have at least three photos in which she unncannily looks like still shots of Green from the film. There are boring stretches of Casino Royale, but, frankly, there are boring sections in all Bond films, I have never been that big of fan. A lot of credit goes to Paul Haggis, because "even accountants have imagination" could never have been written by Purvis and Wade, there is emotion to the relationship between Green and Craig that is missing between Craig and Dench (the real "couple" in relationship in Skyfall) and it's a shame they couldn't hire on Haggis for the next two. I enjoyed Skyfall well enough, but I didn't have any FUN watching it, and it was pointed out afterwards to me that the plot is full of serious holes. See a list of the holes within the review here: (http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Skyfall-A-Review/)

There is no question that Skyfall is a masterpiece and the one that will be better remembered, but that's not to say Casino Royale isn't the better film. There's never been such a realistic, or more beautiful, Bond.

Skyfall.....by just a nudge

Skyfall was a little better.

These are my top 2 Bond films and that is saying a lot because I am a huge Bond fan. Over the last few weeks I have been having a Bond marathon and I watched all 24 films (counting Never Say Never Again) in order finishing with Skyfall today. After my last viewing, I had a feeling that Skyfall would pass Casino Royale this time, but it didn't. Casino Royale is still my #1 Bond film.

I think Skyfall might by a little bit better, maybe.

Casino Royale barely wins. I just thought it was the more well constructed Bond film, even though Skyfall delivered more in terms of action I think.

I agree with GoodFather

I just watched all 3 Daniel Craig James Bond films in the space of a few days and I really enjoyed them. While I do think Skyfall has the best villain from the three films, I think I prefer Casino Royale to Skyfall, mainly due to the action, which I thought was better. The casino scenes were very well done as well in my opinion. I liked the main theme for Casino Royale better than Adele's Skyfall. Overall, it just felt like the better film for me.

Casino Royale is the best Bond film ever. Skyfall isn't even in the top 10. I just don't know what to say. I could watch Casino every day for a week and never tire of it. I've seen Skyfall twice and I've already had my fill. James Bond is the more real, and heart-wrenching than I've ever seen him before in Casino Royale. In Skyfall he's simulating Home Alone. I kept waiting for Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern to show up.

Casino Royale for me. All the ingredients are there. And they're shinier than ever.

The first time I watched Skyfall, I was like Skyfall is wayy better then Casino Royale. But after revisitng both, I enjoyed Casino more. Not saying Skyfall sucks but Casino is the betrer movie.

Skyfall is much more grand in scope. Both are excellent. I think Casino Royale is a much easier to get through, but for the time being, I'll go with Skyfall. It's an awesome movie!

Casino Royale by a slight edge.

The 2nd and 3rd best Bond films. I'll have to go with Skyfall

Skyfall wins easily.It is my favourite Bond movie.on the other hand casino royale is my least favourite bond movie.

Skyfall wins easily.It is my favourite Bond movie.on the other hand casino royale is my least favourite bond movie.

This is pretty close but In the end I have a love for Casino Royal that won't be beat by another Bond. (so far)

Definitely Casino Royale.

Casino Royale is certainly better! SkyFall is too damn depressing and dark for the franchise. Casino Royale works the darker tone better and creates a more compelling character and story! It's a refreshing addition to franchise like how Batman Begins was a refreshing addition to the Batman franchise. SkyFall is a incoherent Dark Knight ripoff with poor and clichéd storytelling. CR>>>>>>SF>>>>>>>>>SPE>>>>>>>>>>>>8QoS.

Skyfall for knowing how to inject a good amount of old-school Bond into it's more serious setting. Casino Royale still felt like Bond finding his groove while ripping off Bourne.

Skyfall. Courtroom shootout is one of, if not the best action scene in bond history, in my opinion, and the climax of Skyfall is bigger and better. Plus, I think Javier Bardem's Silva is better than Le Chiffre any day of the week

Skyfall, for the cinematography

Casino Royale have a more compelling and less flawed story, I liked No Time to Die more than both though.

Love both, but I'm a tad more attached to SKYFALL. Could easily choose differently each time I get this match-up, though.

Skyfall. The first Bond with a real director at the helm, and it shows