Last weekend I took the opportunity to see 'Casino Royale' for a third time, pleased to say I enjoyed it as much I did first time around. Here's what I thought about it after my first viewing:
"Caught 'Casino Royale' yesterday and have to say I really enjoyed it.
Probably the best Bond for quite some time. As much as I liked Brosnan as Bond, the quality of the films he was in got worse as time went by; after a promising start with 'Goldeneye', the films deteriorated (I have previously said that 'Tomorrow Never Dies' was the last good Bond film).
Thankfully 'Casino Royale' has come along!
Before kicking off with my thoughts on the film, I'll list my top three films to start with so you what floats my boat as far as Bond films go: 'From Russia With Love', 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Goldeneye'. (The perfect Bond IMHO would have been OHMSS starring Sean Connery)
'Casino Royale' is a "wipe the slate clean" Bond - it introduces the character anew, covering his first mission as a "Double O". Having said that though, it's difficult to talk about any Bond film without referring to earlier films, but here goes... It has the feel of an early Connery movie, i.e. more reliant on plot than gadgets, one-liners or set-pieces. Granted it has all of those to some extent, it's just that the makers have turned down the "volume" on those aspects of the Bond franchise. One thing they really have turned down (praise the Lord) is the amount of CGI in the film; no silly surfing CGI waves or invisible cars in this film! (Hopefully lessons were learnt from the 'Die Another Day' debacle.) Instead the film-makers have concentrated on making Bond seem realistic and gritty; rather than have a CGI laden sequence, they instead opt for a great chase involving a Bond after a character played by a free-runner (those crazy jump from building to building guys from France). This sequence had me on the edge of my seat - A great athlete versus Bond's predatory cunning. Hats off to Martin Campbell for a great bit of directing! (Although I am a little biased as he directed 'The Edge Of Darkness' - one of my favourite things ever made - and he did a good job on 'Goldeneye'.)
Daniel Craig puts in a really credible performance. I have to admit, when I first heard he'd been cast I thought it was the worst choice ever ("Blond Bond WTF!?") especially when Clive Owen walks this Earth. However, I started warming to him when I saw the trailers and having seen the finished product I take it all back; I'll happily see him play Bond again. In fact, I'm looking forward to May 2008 already!
As for the plot, they stick pretty closely to the original novel (which is a short affair) and fill it out and modernise it quite well whilst keeping the memorable moments of the source material. For example, they've swapped Baccarat (who understands that game?) for poker. A "pleasant" surprise is that they've kept the scene with an open bottomed wicker chair - if you've read the novel you know what I'm on about!"
Probably the best Bond for quite some time. As much as I liked Brosnan as Bond, the quality of the films he was in got worse as time went by; after a promising start with 'Goldeneye', the films deteriorated (I have previously said that 'Tomorrow Never Dies' was the last good Bond film).
Thankfully 'Casino Royale' has come along!
Before kicking off with my thoughts on the film, I'll list my top three films to start with so you what floats my boat as far as Bond films go: 'From Russia With Love', 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Goldeneye'. (The perfect Bond IMHO would have been OHMSS starring Sean Connery)
'Casino Royale' is a "wipe the slate clean" Bond - it introduces the character anew, covering his first mission as a "Double O". Having said that though, it's difficult to talk about any Bond film without referring to earlier films, but here goes... It has the feel of an early Connery movie, i.e. more reliant on plot than gadgets, one-liners or set-pieces. Granted it has all of those to some extent, it's just that the makers have turned down the "volume" on those aspects of the Bond franchise. One thing they really have turned down (praise the Lord) is the amount of CGI in the film; no silly surfing CGI waves or invisible cars in this film! (Hopefully lessons were learnt from the 'Die Another Day' debacle.) Instead the film-makers have concentrated on making Bond seem realistic and gritty; rather than have a CGI laden sequence, they instead opt for a great chase involving a Bond after a character played by a free-runner (those crazy jump from building to building guys from France). This sequence had me on the edge of my seat - A great athlete versus Bond's predatory cunning. Hats off to Martin Campbell for a great bit of directing! (Although I am a little biased as he directed 'The Edge Of Darkness' - one of my favourite things ever made - and he did a good job on 'Goldeneye'.)
Daniel Craig puts in a really credible performance. I have to admit, when I first heard he'd been cast I thought it was the worst choice ever ("Blond Bond WTF!?") especially when Clive Owen walks this Earth. However, I started warming to him when I saw the trailers and having seen the finished product I take it all back; I'll happily see him play Bond again. In fact, I'm looking forward to May 2008 already!
As for the plot, they stick pretty closely to the original novel (which is a short affair) and fill it out and modernise it quite well whilst keeping the memorable moments of the source material. For example, they've swapped Baccarat (who understands that game?) for poker. A "pleasant" surprise is that they've kept the scene with an open bottomed wicker chair - if you've read the novel you know what I'm on about!"
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