Bond has been newly promoted to 00 status within MI6, he plays by his own rules, and he is ruled by his own emotions more than he would like to admit. Too much time, arguably, when all we need to know are three simple facts. So much time is dedicated to establishing the character of Craig’s Bond to distinguish him from previous iterations. Looking back, it’s so clear that the first act of Casino Royale treads water until Vesper arrives. As Adele once wailed about a relationship with a tragically premature ending: We could have had it all. The ghost of Vesper Lynd haunts man and franchise both, just as she haunts me. Vesper was the one who pulled me into Bond the franchise, not Bond the man. But I can tell you this: I never would have cared about James Bond had it not been for Vesper’s electrifying presence in Casino Royale. I don’t anticipate filling in the blanks because, frankly, 50 years of Bond has always sounded exhausting and I have a 2 1/2-year-old now, so the likelihood of catching up at this point is basically none. People smarter than me and infinitely more invested in the role of women in the Bond franchise may debate Vesper’s place as the “best Bond girl,” and who am I to argue, really? My pre-Craig Bond knowledge is nonexistent outside of one Brosnan outing (and that one I only watched for Toby Stephens’s homoerotic lip curl).

By 58:14, everyone watching her - cold, closed-off 007 (Daniel Craig) included - has fallen in love with her, and she’s only said three words: “I’m the money.”

Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) struts down the aisle of a train at the 58:11 mark of 2006’s Casino Royale. The end of this essay contains spoilers for No Time To Die (2021).

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