ROBERT COTTON A good villain, almost great. We get enough backstory to see how he works, enough subtext to tell us he will be ruthless if pushed. He's a fairly realistic villain, but he's also quite distant. He's what one would expect to find in a man who does what he does. There is not a moment in Le Chiffre's life that does not fit his character. There are no sudden lurches into science fiction, no laser pistols in his future. He is in the moment. One of the most telling scenes in the film is when Bond and Mathis talk about the bodies of the men who tried to kill Le Chiffre and how Le Chiffre now has to figure out who killed those men and why. It plays into the next few scenes as subtext, but it's there and one of the many reasons Casino Royale far outshines it's predecessor. One addendum: The eye is perfect. He weeps blood. What a perfect description of both the malady and the man. BILL KOENIG You get the impression Le Chiffre REALLY isn´t the main menace, but he´s still a haunting presence. The shawdowy Mr. White lends a menacing background menace. JAMES McMAHON Le Chiffre -  The character of Le Chiffre succeeds in walking a tightrope between being over the top on the one side (tears of blood), and being wholly human on the other.  They got the balance just right, to make a villain with human emotions but with a typical Fleming-esque macabre quality.  Mads Mikkelsen and Daniel Craig have good chemistry, whether across the baize from eachother, or in the torture room.  Top notch.

ED WERNER The thing that first struck me after seeing this film was that the character of Le Chiffre is truly one of the strongest villains of the entire series. Mads Mikkelsen plays the role with a classy light hand, not over indulging in theatrics or other common staples found in many of the other villains. For the first time, he is really just a man trapped. This is quite refreshing after many movies where the villain's main drive is to simply acquire wealth or power. There is also a depth to the character that has simply not been found in the past. Bond and Le Chiffre never physically fight each other. In fact, it isn't even Bond that kills him in the end! Bond is in a very delicate position at the time and I for one, would find it hard to believe that anyone in Bond's condition at the time, would be able to take on anybody. Le Chiffre is simply the best villain, in the best Bond movie since 1969. TOM ZIELINSKI Mads Mikkelsen is simply brilliant as the evil Le Chiffre.  A plot inspired almost whole by Fleming's first novel, the role demanded an actor with some gravitas.  Mikkelsen delivers.  The card game is lovingly and leisurely portrayed with appropriate tension between Le Chiffre and 007, and what can be said of the sublimely written and acted torture scene except it is the epitome of what a James Bond film is capable of.  An excellent Bond adversary in every facet and a throwback to the Glory Days of the 1960's.  May Bond 22 continue in the same vein. PAUL BAACK In the pantheon of the greatest of James Bond's enemies, Le Chiffre rates right up there With Dr. No, Blofeld, and Goldfinger. Played by the seemingly preternaturally sweaty Mads Mikkelsen, Le Chiffre is everything a Bond Villain is supposed to be -- venal, hoggishly greedy, slightly off-putting in his appearance, a little... off in his sexuality, and unflinchingly cruel. There's actually not a lot I can say about this character in this film, other than... GREAT! Applause, applause.

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