It is amazing that a film that is so overblown, over produced and over budgeted can still be so light and airy. Yet, the film has no malice it is as bright and breezy as a screwball comedy with just a touch of British absurdity.
Basically you have a whole bunch of big name stars - past their prime, but still with box office credibility - ridiculing the very youth market that was squeezing them off the theatre marquees. As a satire of Bond films, CASINO is adequate as a satire of the then trendy-swinging-cool-hip-with-it-now youth films of the era, it succeeds beautifully. As far as the actors are concerned, CASINO ROYALE seems to be little more than an excuse to have a multimillion dollar party at the studio's expense. It is obvious that no one gave the slightest thought to creating a genuine spy film and instead approached the film with a devil-may-care attitude. To this end, the untold number of writers and directors involved have opted to take the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to storytelling, mixed with a cut-and-paste style of editing. The film was intended to be the ultimate spy spoof, an attempt to out-Bond the James Bond movies and their innumerable imitators.
What should stink of embarrassing desperation, instead proves to cheerfully insane, unpredictable and remarkably free of common sense. It is a wonderfully weird, bold, funny and incoherent mess of a movie. CASINO ROYALE is one of the truly great bad movies of all time.
