Obama loves Casino Royale, and honestly? The man has taste. During his appearance on The Colbert Questionert, the former President named the 2006 James Bond reboot as his all-time favorite action movie, which immediately sparked debate online because everyone has opinions about Bond and nobody agrees on anything.
Casino Royale matters because it saved James Bond from himself. After Die Another Day gave us an invisible car and a villain with diamonds in his face, the franchise was circling the drain. Then Daniel Craig showed up, blond and brutal, and suddenly 007 felt dangerous again. Obama loves Casino Royale because it strips away the gadgets and gimmicks, replacing them with actual character development and a poker game so tense you forget to breathe.
The former President specifically praised Craig’s turn as Bond, calling him a fan of the actor’s interpretation. Casino Royale gave us the parkour chase through Madagascar, the torture scene where Le Chiffre whacks Bond’s sensitive bits with a knotted rope, and that iconic moment where Vesper Lynd watches Bond emerge from the ocean in swim trunks. It’s action cinema that understands physicality matters more than explosions.
Obama loves Casino Royale enough to say it publicly on national television, which means he’s either genuinely passionate about it or he’s trolling the Roger Moore purists. Either way, it’s working. The internet immediately split into factions—people agreeing that Casino Royale is indeed the best, and contrarians insisting that The Raid 2 or Mad Max: Fury Road deserves the crown. Both are valid, but only one has a former President’s endorsement.
What makes this delightful is imagining Obama watching Casino Royale in the White House screening room, probably with some popcorn and his feet up, nodding along as Bond explains the difference between shaken and stirred. Casino Royale is the kind of movie that works for everyone—action fans get the stunts, drama fans get the romance, and political figures get to seem relatable by naming it as a favorite.
The Colbert Questionert also revealed Obama’s first concert, favorite smell, and other personal details, but nobody cares because Casino Royale is the headline. When a world leader tells you his favorite action movie, you listen. Obama loves Casino Royale, and now you have presidential permission to rewatch it this weekend.
Stream Casino Royale and see why Obama loves Casino Royale enough to declare it on late night television.
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