As Timothy Lawrence puts it, this is the tragedy of a man who loses his soul (filmfisher.com/films/casino-royale/). But for anyone familiar with James Bond's cold-hearted, psychopathic tendencies, it's actually quite delightful to see him still acting like a real human in this origin story. Much like Goldfinger, this is a portrayal of Bond where his vulnerabilities are laid bare and he has true empathy for others, not to mention an almost pure romance. The result is a much more compelling spy story than many of its emotionally-detatched sequels.