Despite its obvious faults, this is a film which it is actually quite difficult to dislike.  From the start, the film almost seems to realise it is going to fail, and so it soon ends up laughing at itself.  It is this typically British self-deprecatory sense of fun which gives the film sufficient charm for it to be watchable.   There are also a few genuinely funny moments, although these tend to get lost in the rambling, confused plot.  (The first thirty minutes of the film is almost totally unfathomable).

The film’s strongest selling point has to be Burt Bacharach’s racy score, played Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass band, somewhat over-used but always a pleasure to listen to.  If the whole film had been of a similar calibre, Casino Royale would probably be regarded as a classic, rather than a clumsy attempt to parody one of British cinema’s most popular film series.