CASINO ROYALE has an episodic structure that is generally hard to watch as most of the supposed funny bits are anything but. An appears-in-anything Ursula Andress is the crumpet, while the supporting cast in this bloated production is packed with cameoing stars like Deborah Kerr, John Huston, William Holden, and even one Woody Allen playing 'Jimmy Bond'. Meanwhile, we get a storyline involving a past-his-prime David Niven as an elderly Bond who recruits various newcomers to the fold, including a poor Peter Sellers. Orson Welles has a few scenes as Le Chiffre, for example, but what happens to him is totally out of left field. The storyline only loosely follows that of the Fleming novel, despite the misleading title. This is a film filled with extremely broad comedy, touches of surreal humour, and a general lack of both cohesion and coherence so that for most of the running time you're wondering what the hell you're watching.
A troubled production leads to a very troubled picture in which new meaning is brought to the phrase 'scattershot'. Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 3 / 10 Messiest film everĬASINO ROYALE, a 1967 spoof of the whole James Bond spy genre, has to be one of the messiest films ever made.
