Casino Royale Director Admits Mistake In Iconic James Bond Poker Scene

Saturday 28th November 2020

Casino Royale's poker scenes are some of the best in the movie. However, its director has admitted there's a mistake.

The 2006 film introduced a new era of James Bond in Daniel Craig, an athletic, vulnerable brute unlike any 007 we'd seen before, albeit with shades of Timothy Dalton.

As the title goes, Montenegro's Casino Royale plays a pivotal role as Bond and Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) go head-to-head in a high stakes Texas hold 'em tournament. While seemingly flawless, there is one 'amusing' error, according to Martin Campbell.

Campbell, who also directed Pierce Brosnan's Bond introduction with GoldenEye, looked back on the poker sequence in a new interview with Polygon. 'There was a lot of [card] playing in it. It was the thing I sweated on more than anything else,' he said.

He added, 'I think the sequence was pretty convincing. What you realise is, it's not just the card games - it's the stakes. It's also two guys eye-f*cking one another, basically. That was the secret.'

Of course, Bond comes out on top at the end with a straight flush, winning a whopping $115 million. Just before the film kicks into a further dramatic gear, Bond slips the dealer a plastic chip worth $500,000, which isn't worth anything outside the game.

Campbell said, 'I always laugh at the end when Bond just flips him half a million. It was just amusing to me - it's not Bond's money.'

The director added, 'This is sort of Bond before he becomes Bond, thinking with his heart instead of his head. From a dramatic point of view, each of the card games has a good climax.'