As others note in these reviews, not much happens in 'Casino Royale.' The action scenes are brief and rendered in a low-key, realistic manner. If Bond's successful, a key Soviet puppet operation in France will go down in bankruptcy and scandal. Meeting one here, he notes in her eyes 'a touch of ironical disinterest which, to his annoyance, he found he would like to shatter, roughly.' Yeah, I can totally see Roger Moore in that role! Bond's lack of likeability is a key and singular strength in 'Casino Royale,' set in the mythical French port town of Royale-les-Eaux where Bond has been sent to outduel a KGB operative named Le Chiffre - at cards.
This Bond doesn't employ gadgets, doesn't shoot his gun, and has odd feelings about women. Ruthless, hard, loner-by-choice James Bond debuted that year in Ian Fleming's 'Casino Royale,' as someone much different than he was in decades to come. In 1953 Dwight Eisenhower became president, the hydrogen bomb debuted, Stalin died, the Rosenbergs were executed, and a new hero arrived in time for the iciest phase of the Cold War.
