End of minute 19


Off to the Bahamas

Bond escapes the embassy having just blown it up and killing Mollaka. He retrieves a phone from Mollaka’s backpack and sees the work Ellipsis on it. From there the film switches to the Bahamas again and cuts to a gorgeous shot of Ivana Milicevic who plays Valenka, sucking in a huge lungful of air as she comes out of the water. 

The whole audience is doing the same after such a breathless action sequence.

Sunseeker Predator in Casino Royale

The Sunseeker Predator

The camera pans out and we have a shot of the Sunseeker Predator 108 moored up and Valenka is climbing aboard. She enters and we see The Sunseeker logo is on the door in the background. It’s noticeable because it’s quite rare we get to see brand logos in the Bond films.

Valenka enters the deck drying herself off, distracting one gentleman from his poker hand. Opposite him is Le Chiffre. In the Blu Ray commentary, the screen writers for Casino Royale Purvis and Wade – said about the character Le Chiffre played by Mads Mikkelsen:

He’s a human thats made a mistake and he’s trying to make up for that mistake. He’s very human, and very handsome, not your typical bond villain.

Sunseeker Predator in Casino Royale with logo

From Bond Lifestyle

A very good article on Bond Lifestyle that I recommend goes into detail about the Sunseeker featured in this film.

Working closely with Sunseeker’s designers and drawing office, film producers EON Productions took 6 weeks to create full-scale sets of the Predator 108’s Deck Saloon, Aft Cockpit and Master Stateroom, duplicating every aspect of equipment, luxury and style in the finest detail. Once created, the film sets were dismantled in the UK, transported and constructed in Prague, and mounted on a giant hydraulic platform to simulate the movement of the sea during filming.

End of minute 20


Listen to the podcast

Christopher Morales from That One Bond Guy and I break down Minute 20. Check out the individual minutes, thoughts and discussion points here. Listen on iTunes or Spotify, or the player below.

Images of boats, hot blondes and lecherous middle-aged poker players from Casino Royale (2006) Image rights held © 2008 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Danjaq, LLC.