007: Casino Royale Title Sequence

Ian Fleming's 007 - James Bond has been around for a long time, at this point. Numerous films with different actors took on the role of Bond, the suave, yet cold-hearted killer loyal to his mother country. In Martin Campbell's 2006 hit film "Casino Royale", Daniel Craig takes on the role of Bond for the first time. The title sequence starts out with the iconic "looking down the sights" shot, with Bond in the crosshair, shooting his would-be killer, blood pouring down the screen.

As the title sequence continues, royal and regal colors fill the screen, accompanied by references to casino games, such as poker and roulette. Everything on screen is replaced with these symbols, and even the characters are just silhouettes made up of clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds. (When they are "killed", they disintegrate into their respective suit.) It's very cool looking, and it flows well with the theme of the movie. (That being high stakes casino games accompanied by the usual Jame Bonds-esq. fare, e.g. killing the bad guy.)

Once in a while, a woman's face appears in one of the cross hairs. This woman plays an important part in the movie, and it is foreshadowed here.

The music reflects the theme of the movie well, too. All around on screen, people appear to be dying, killed by suits from cards, while the music says "arm yourself because no one else here will save you, the odds will betray you and I will replace you". This is interesting, particularly because this is Daniel Craig's first movie as James Bond, and it reflects how operatives and agents are replaced if they get sloppy. It's all very 007'y, and it's no surprise that this title sequence (and movie) are a fan favorite.