Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.
The 1967 Casino Royale is a gloriously anarchic, psychedelic spy spoof that defies conventional filmmaking at nearly every turn — multiple directors, an intentionally incoherent episodic structure, and a cast of enormous stars all playing variations of 'James Bond.' Its Novelty is genuinely high because nothing quite looks or feels like this chaotic, kaleidoscopic mess of a film. The acting is a mixed bag elevated by star power (Peter Sellers, David Niven, Orson Welles, Woody Allen), earning a solid above-average mark. Cinematography has moments of vivid 1960s pop-art flair but is uneven across the multiple directing units. The plot is intentionally scattershot and largely incoherent even by parody standards, earning a below-average mark. The ending descends into pure nonsensical mayhem — cameos, explosions, and chaos — that even by spoof standards fails to land as satisfying or clever, earning a well below-average mark.