Casino Royale (2006)
Vesper: Guide or Villain?
I’ve been a James Bond fan for years. And, when Casino Royale came out back in 2006, I was cautiously optimistic, unsure how Daniel Craig would do as the new face of the franchise.
Unsurprisingly, I loved the film and have watched it many, many times since. When you can combine, action, adventure, and a high-stakes game of poker together, there’s a 92% chance I’m going to love that movie. What I was most pleased about the first time that I watched it was that the main love interest, Vesper, played by Eva Green, didn’t immediately fall in love with our protagonist. Instead, she was feisty, challenged him, and occasionally put him in his place. We all knew that eventually they would end up together, but she made it a little more difficult for our favorite 00 character.
But, while discussing this film, Jen brought up a good question that still has my wheels turning.
Is Vesper Lynd the guide to get the hero to feel?
Or is she the villain preying on our hero?
I had never quite thought of it in those terms before. If you’re watching the movie with the goal of Bond keeping his humanity intact by the end of the movie, she’s the guide and the film is a tragedy. If she’s the villain trying to keep Bond…
