Casino Royale

Variety by

A film of astounding sloppiness, an insult to the Bond name (most likely deliberate) and a dark spot on the resumes of all involved (surely unintentional).

Village Voice by Andrew Sarris

Things pick up a little bit when Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, and Woody Allen stumble into the scene, but the total experience remains boringly incoherent.

The New York Times by Bosley Crowther

If it were stopped at the end of an hour and 40 minutes instead of at the end of 2 hours and 10 minutes, it might be a terminally satisfying entertainment instead of the wearying one it is.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Unfortunately, after the introductory sequences, Casino Royale begins a downhill slide. It gets progressively sillier and more incoherent until it's impossible to keep any of the plot elements straight.

Empire by Kim Newman

Despite being not officially a Bond film this is good solid, entertaining action.

The A.V. Club by Nathan Rabin

Casino Royale offers plenty for the eyes and ears, but little for the funnybone.

The New Yorker by Pauline Kael

An all-star send-up of the Bond films, with multiple Bonds and multiple directors, has some laughs, but it makes one terribly conscious of wastefulness. Jokes and plots and possibilities are thrown away along with huge, extravagant sets, and famous performers go spinning by.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

At one time or another, Casino Royale undoubtedly had a shooting schedule, a script and a plot. If any one of the three ever turns up, it might be the making of a good movie.