Time For 007

James Bond movie musings. 007 words, 007 sentences. Twice daily at 10:07 AM/PM UTC.
Casino Royale (2006)

Venice sinking house was the wrong choice

I appreciate the torture sequence and death of Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, but the final act of the movie surrounding Bond and Vesper and their getaway to Venice misses the mark. Specifically, the climax in the sinking house and Vesper’s eventual suicide by giving up and drowning feels a bit contrived. Aside from the absurdity of the physics of a sinking house in Venice simply caused by Bond’s gunshots to a few half-submerged air tanks, they could have evoked Bond’s helpless feeling in a more effective manner.

A quieter, more intimate choice like a drug overdose could have delivered the same sense of helplessness without relying on questionable physics and collapsing architecture. In my opinion, they simply overcomplicated the sequence and tried to squeeze in one last burst of chaos to a scene that didn’t need it. Oh well.

On This Day…

All other April 17th posts

April 17, 2026 – 10:07 PM UTC

In For Your Eyes Only, the Countess Lisl subplot stands out as a curious lapse in character logic. The idea that Columbo would deploy his own mistress to extract information from Bond, only to risk her safety, feels oddly careless for a man portrayed as shrewd and deeply suspicious. Equally puzzling is Melina’s complete indifference…