On last night’s Daniel Craig-hostedSaturday Night Live, the finally retiring James Bond started off the show by assuring everyone that he’s just as sophisticated (as are all British people) as the tuxedo-clad, bed-hopping hired murderer he’s played since 2006. And then the Knives Out star chucked all that tosh out of the window by throwing to a mid-monologue, lovingly crafted short film purporting to be a sneak preview clip from the upcoming (but not too soon) No Time To Die, and showing just how his aging Bond has finally started to relax and enjoy some of the perks his soon-to-be-abandoned job affords him. Shown at first dutifully and suavely playing off cast member Chloe Fineman’s femme fatale informant at one of the casinos Bond always seems to wind up at when he’s supposed to be saving the world, Craig’s Bond sidles up to his usual spot at the baccarat table (or Texas Hold ’Em table, if you want to stay hip and current), only to find himself swept up in the proffered craps dice like an Idaho conventioneer with a pocketful of company per diem.
Finding himself with the hot hand, a rapidly growing cheering section of the traditional gambling grannies and uniformed bachelor party bros, and a vodka-and-Red-Bull, Craig’s Bond quickly loses all pretense at his signature playing-it-cool table mien once the chips start falling his way. “I can’t believe that just worked!,” Bond crows delightedly after rolling a seven just after setting it up with a cool-as-ice, “I’m double-0 . . .” From there, the chummy fever of taking a faithful crowd of bettors along with him on his ride powering his endeavors, Craig’s Bond abandons all semblance of suavity even as he picks up a grateful boob-flash from Kate McKinnon’s winning senior citizen and a new best pal in Kenan Thompson’s hilariously enthusiastic drunken booster. (You, sir! You!”) Can such a winning streak wind up as anything but a trap for the intrepid and slightly buzzed Bond? Of course not, although not even a devious croupier with a hidden gun can take down James-freaking-Bond. Ahem, indubitably.
