Casino Royale

Casino Royale

Some viewers have proclaimed that the 21st official James Bond movie is the best ever. I try to explain here why they not so correct in this view, but first I tell you where I agree with them.

The first three 007 movies with Sean Connery made such a phenomenal impression, in some ways changing the course of cinema history, that every film in the franchise since has tried to emulate them, often to the point of following a formula. Casino Royale, the first entry for diretor Martin Campbell since he revitalized the series with GoldenEye, is also the first since the early 1960s to attempt to go beyond being a good Bond movie and try to just be a movie Having decided to recast the lead role, the filmmakers have gone even further by making a completely fresh start. Campbell signals this by beginning the film in grainy black white before continuing into a computer animated title sequence (accompanied by former Soundgarden and Audioslave front man Chris Cornell memorable Know My Name with both techniques recalling the early years of 007 while being very modern as well.

James Bond (Daniel Craig of Layer Cake) is a young MI6 agent who has just achieved double0 rank. Craig was a controversial choice, but he proves himself by embodying Fleming concept of a selfloathing, sophisticated government weapon with the physical requirements of a modern action movie hero. The DVD cover shows him in a slightly disheveled state tie loose, shirt open and this reflects the unpolished rendering of the character. He has skills and intelligence, but he still very much the instrument as M (Judi Dench) describes him. We seeing a character we used to knowing well in a new light, and what more, we see that character change, not all for the better, over the course of the story. We see Bond get all sweaty and bruised as he makes his first kill, but his second is cold and ruthless, indicating the direction his journey is taking him.

The young 007 gets his hands dirty in brawling action scenes throughout the film, and often we see him bleed or lose his temper. This is a Bond still capable of letting his guard down. But by the end he coolly dispatching a target, who is obviously weaker than he, from a safe distance.

The story proper begins with Bond botching an assignment. After pursuing a criminal who is an expert at Parkour the urban roofjumping sport action fans will remember from its demonstration in District B13 Bond ends the chase by executing the suspect and blowing up an embassy, all in front of a security camera. Suspended from duty, Bond decides to pursue the case anyway on his own, following clues left on the dead man cell phone to the Caribbean, where he connects the dots to a terroristforhire planning to blow up a new commercial jet in Miami. The terrorists are working for illegal arms banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen of King Arthur), who has been using borrowed funds to cause mayhem, having invested heavily in the results of his sabotage. Left in debt by Bond interference, Le Chiffre only hope of settling his debts and saving his life is to win the poker championship at Casino Royale. MI6 sends card shark Bond to beat him in this high stakes game, making the criminal vulnerable and anxious to turn in all his clients to save his own skin.

The midsection of the film follows the first 007 novel reasonably well, and is perhaps the most faithful adaptation of Ian Fleming work. Bond enters the game (the current fashion of poker judged more accessible than baccarat) accompanied by a pair of watchdogs Vesper Lynd (Eva Green of Kingdom of Heaven) is there to protect the UK Treasury funds backing their player, while Mathis (the legendary Giancarlo Giannini) handles local security arrangements. Bond and Le Chiffre play cat mouse throughout the game, with both players struggling with the threat of Le Chiffre enraged African clients. In the midst of this intrigue and danger, Bond finds himself falling in love for the first (but not the last, according to the canon).

It in the third act that we run into difficulty. First, Bond is captured and undergoes a particularly nasty torture by knotted rope (the book choice of a rug beater might have been less distressing). Afterward, we get an overlong sequence with Bond and his new girlfriend enjoying themselves while sailing around the Mediterranean. Both sequences are annoyingly superfluous, as it turns out the former could be eliminated by applying common sense, and the latter stops the film cold while the audience waits for the plot to get underway again. Many 007 movies end with the hero taking a holiday with his latest girl but though it nice that for once the romance isn trivial, we know the movie isn over and they not living happily ever after, we would appreciate it if they just get on with it. turns out to involve the destruction of an ancient building in Venice, which may distract some viewers more concerned with treasured landmarks than with the lives of fictional spies. The ending gets the film tone back o track and points us toward the future of the franchise, but the missteps cited above threaten to sink everything, especially as the movie is epic length without them.

Dench return as M is the film lone thread connecting it to the preceding series, and while Q and his gadgets are missed (Bond makes use of gadgetry that anyone could purchase), and the opportunity to show the young 007 as a true rogue while teasing Moneypenny, the fresh start for the character is successful at providing plenty of thrills along with a little food for thought, generating anticipation for the next exciting chapter.

The film has been issued on DVD in a 2disc set, providing maximum bit rate to the film transfer itself by couching the extras on disc 2. The featurette Bond covers the creation of the film in general, while Bond: For Real more entrancingly tells us about creating the outstanding stunts. Especially amusing is seeing the crew trying to get the AstinMartin to roll, which turns out to be very difficult (they ended up setting a new record). Also included is the 2002 TV special Bond Girls Are Forever (originally seen on American Movie Classics), in which Maryam d (The Living Daylights) interviews as many of the 87 James Bond female costars as she can. Surprisingly, while toeing the party line about strong female characters, many of the interviewees are frank about the character often boorish behavior, as well as that of the actors playing him. Previously issued on DVD separately, the special has been updated to include the latest Bond Girls Eva Green and Caterina Murino.

The disc is rounded out with Cornell music video and a collection of trailers, disappointing in relation to MGM deluxe 007 DVDs only by its lack of a commentrak. The roughhewn physical combat of this Bond gave this character more grounded accesibilityless lead up to hammy one liners and more plot development; except for the third act. Did one of the producers cry "But we haven't reached our quota of explosions." when they got to this stage of writing the screenplay? Was it necessary to divulge Vesper's betrayal with a "boom"? Again, vestiges of the tired Bond formula still stick to this one but with a new character approach to make it enjoyable.