Casino Royale’s Vesper saved Bond’s life by allowing herself to die because she was in love with him, as she understood that they could never truly be together.
In the 2006 film, Casino Royale, James Bond film fanatics got to understand how Agent 007 got to be the emotionally unavailable, suave spy they have come to know.
Casino Royale was released during Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond, which heavily focussed on humanising the character.
Casino Royale introduced the first official Bond Girl of Craig’s chapter, Vesper Lynd. In both the books and films, Vesper is seen as the woman who turned the young agent who was still wet behind the ears, into the aloof, job-oriented spy we came to know.
What is Casino Royale about?
Directed by Martin Campbell, Casino Royale was released in 2006.
The screenplay was co-written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, who brought James Bond to life through a premise that reads, “After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007.
Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.”
Much like the films that followed, Casino Royale was the adaptation of the first book written by author Ian Fleming. Moreover, it served to introduce the first Bond girl from the novels, Vesper Lynd, who dies at the end of the book.
Why did Vesper save Bond?
Vesper Lynd, who was tasked with supervising Bond on his first mission, falls in love with the new agent during their time together. After they seemingly completed their mission, they decided to relocate to Venice to start a new life.
However, Bond learned that Vesper had embezzled money for the Quantum henchmen. When he went to confront her, he discovered that she had been kidnapped.
Bond then decided to fight the Quantum henchmen in an attempt to save Vesper. However, once he had defeated the henchmen, he found Vesper stuck in a lift that was rapidly filling with water, with the building minutes away from collapsing.
Seeing Bond struggle to save her, Vesper resigned herself to death in order to save Bond. Before slipping away, she said goodbye by laying her hand on the glass lift door, as Bond did the same.
Did Vesper commit suicide?
The matter of whether or not Vesper Lynd committed suicide depends on who you ask. For fans of the film franchise that have never read the books by Ian Fleming, the answer would be no.
This is as much as Vesper did resign herself to death, she had not planned to die in the lift to ensure Bond lived. However, if you ask fans that have read the book too, the answer would be yes.
This is as the book reveals that Vesper committed suicide by an overdose, even before her and Bond could have a moment to say goodbye.
Who played Vesper Lynd?
There have been two actresses that have played Vesper Lynd. The first was legendary actress, Ursula Andress. Andress played the character in 1967 on a James Bond parody based on Ian Flemings’ writings. Andress also holds the title as the first ever Bond Girl.
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Taking that into account, Eva Green is arguably the most memorable actress to play Vesper Lynd, as she executed the role during 2006’s James Bonds’ Casino Royale.
For her portrayal of Vesper Lynd, she became the seventieth Bond Girl to assume a leading female role in a James Bond film.
How many Bond Girls have there been?
While the times have changed and being a “Bond Girl” might not be as much of an accolade as it was in the past, for over fifty years between the 1960s and 2000s, being a Bond Girl was one of the headlining-grabbing, most sought after roles.
As mentioned above, the first Bond Girl was Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, who set the tone for the rest of the 74 other Bond Girls to date. In total, there are a total of 75 Bond Girls so far.
Conclusion
The last actor to play James Bond was Daniel Craig. Craig played the secret Agent 007, with a license to kill for five James Bond films.
His first was Casino Royale, which was his origin story film. While it did not address him as a child, it started to reveal how he became a playboy.
Much like in the books, James Bond, became a philandering, unemotionally available spy after his heart was broken by his first love, Vesper Lynd, who died saving him from death during the film adaptation of Casino Royale.