The Beginning of a New Era
Most of you know that I am a James Bond junkie. I've seen all the movies several times, most of them many many times. My enjoyment of the flicks is not always based on who is Bond. It's more about the movie itself. My favorites have always been the ones with minimal over-the-top factor: From Russia With Love, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only (my favorite.) Now, add Casino Royale to my top favorites. I saw it last night, and it's easily my favorite Bond flick of the last 25 years (dating back to FYEO, made in 1981) ... and it's closely comparable to FYEO for a lot of the same reasons... good story, minimal crazy gadgets, no elaborate villain lairs, no 'destroy the world' schemes, and a classically beautiful brunette 'Bond girl.'
Here's my review (broken down by the major components that make up a Bond flick) ... some moderate spoilers are below, but I won't give away any of the plot:
Pre-titles opening sequence: Done in black and white, which was a really cool touch. It really set the tone for this new 'old' Bond. It also gave an excellent 'back story' for the iconic Bond opening that has come with every one of the real films (the shot of Bond through a gun barrell.) Not the Best pre-titles sequence of the series, but it was still pretty good. It's purpose was more to give a little background than to get the adrenaline going... but it managed to do both.
Story: Most Bond flicks don't really have much of a story. Small problem becomes big problem, bond solves the problem, and gets the girl. yay. But, there are varying degrees of narrative quality within the series, and this one was good. Since there wasn't a lot of gadgets or elaborate villain lairs, or over the top sidekicks, the movie had to be carried by the plot. It worked well.
Titles: No naked women sihlouettes, much to my chagrin. But they were artfully done, with a neat cell-shaded animation look. I enjoyed the title sequence.
Title Song: Definitely not the best. I'd actually put it in the lower half. Chris Cornell (I think he was in Stone Temple Pilots) sang it. It was pretty forgettable.
Score: I loved the score. It was decidedly old school bond, harkening back to the Connery days with violins and harps carrying the load. Very well done. The quintessential Bond Theme didn't make an appearance until the very end.
Gadgets: Almost no gadgets. A few modern day necessities (RFID chip, cell phones), but no idiotic crazy stuff like invisible cars, inflatable spheres, or other Q branch craziness. I've never been a huge fan of the Q branch gadgets, but I have always loved the ubiquitous Q Branch scene and the Q character (both Desmond Lewellyn and especially when John Cleese assumed the role) and was disappointed that Cleese didn't make an appearance in the film.
Villains: One of the marks of the Bond series has always been the memorable villains. Casino Royale's villains aren't terribly memorable. I'm guessing the film makers didn't want to have a villain overshadow Bond in Craig's first flim. It's ok - I happen to agree with that move.
Womens: Bond's first encounter with a woman was not entirely memorable - she was exotic and beautiful, but not much else was there. But Eva Green was excellent, and has moved into my vaunted upper echelon of Bond Women. She's a gorgeous brunette, and a good actress. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of depth to her character, so she doesn't move into the top 5.
Casino Action: Well.. you'd think that if the word Casino is in the title, then it will have some casino action, particularly since the majority of Bond flicks have at least some sort of casino scene. In this edition, the casino scene plays an integral part in the plot, which pleases me.
Locations: Lots of great locations in this one... Prague, Bahamas, Miami, Montenegro, Italy, Madagascar, and of course, London.
Bond: I've always been more about the individual movie's merits than about which Bond is best. They all have their strong points. Even Timothy Dalton wasn't too bad - he was more of a victim of bad scripts than being a bad bond. I liked Connery's arrogance and coolness. I liked Moore's delivery and sense of humor. I enjoyed Lazenby's portrayal as a whole.. and Brosnan, well, I think he's the best actor to have played Bond. I really enjoyed Craig's portrayal. I think he's going to be great in the role, and may turn out to be the best of all of them. I definitely think he's the closest to what Flemming had in mind when he wrote the novels.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Casino Royale. It's easily the my favorite since FYEO, and I liked it better than most that came before it. Definitely in my top 5, and possibly in my top 3. Go see it. Now.
Here's my review (broken down by the major components that make up a Bond flick) ... some moderate spoilers are below, but I won't give away any of the plot:
Pre-titles opening sequence: Done in black and white, which was a really cool touch. It really set the tone for this new 'old' Bond. It also gave an excellent 'back story' for the iconic Bond opening that has come with every one of the real films (the shot of Bond through a gun barrell.) Not the Best pre-titles sequence of the series, but it was still pretty good. It's purpose was more to give a little background than to get the adrenaline going... but it managed to do both.
Story: Most Bond flicks don't really have much of a story. Small problem becomes big problem, bond solves the problem, and gets the girl. yay. But, there are varying degrees of narrative quality within the series, and this one was good. Since there wasn't a lot of gadgets or elaborate villain lairs, or over the top sidekicks, the movie had to be carried by the plot. It worked well.
Titles: No naked women sihlouettes, much to my chagrin. But they were artfully done, with a neat cell-shaded animation look. I enjoyed the title sequence.
Title Song: Definitely not the best. I'd actually put it in the lower half. Chris Cornell (I think he was in Stone Temple Pilots) sang it. It was pretty forgettable.
Score: I loved the score. It was decidedly old school bond, harkening back to the Connery days with violins and harps carrying the load. Very well done. The quintessential Bond Theme didn't make an appearance until the very end.
Gadgets: Almost no gadgets. A few modern day necessities (RFID chip, cell phones), but no idiotic crazy stuff like invisible cars, inflatable spheres, or other Q branch craziness. I've never been a huge fan of the Q branch gadgets, but I have always loved the ubiquitous Q Branch scene and the Q character (both Desmond Lewellyn and especially when John Cleese assumed the role) and was disappointed that Cleese didn't make an appearance in the film.
Villains: One of the marks of the Bond series has always been the memorable villains. Casino Royale's villains aren't terribly memorable. I'm guessing the film makers didn't want to have a villain overshadow Bond in Craig's first flim. It's ok - I happen to agree with that move.
Womens: Bond's first encounter with a woman was not entirely memorable - she was exotic and beautiful, but not much else was there. But Eva Green was excellent, and has moved into my vaunted upper echelon of Bond Women. She's a gorgeous brunette, and a good actress. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of depth to her character, so she doesn't move into the top 5.
Casino Action: Well.. you'd think that if the word Casino is in the title, then it will have some casino action, particularly since the majority of Bond flicks have at least some sort of casino scene. In this edition, the casino scene plays an integral part in the plot, which pleases me.
Locations: Lots of great locations in this one... Prague, Bahamas, Miami, Montenegro, Italy, Madagascar, and of course, London.
Bond: I've always been more about the individual movie's merits than about which Bond is best. They all have their strong points. Even Timothy Dalton wasn't too bad - he was more of a victim of bad scripts than being a bad bond. I liked Connery's arrogance and coolness. I liked Moore's delivery and sense of humor. I enjoyed Lazenby's portrayal as a whole.. and Brosnan, well, I think he's the best actor to have played Bond. I really enjoyed Craig's portrayal. I think he's going to be great in the role, and may turn out to be the best of all of them. I definitely think he's the closest to what Flemming had in mind when he wrote the novels.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Casino Royale. It's easily the my favorite since FYEO, and I liked it better than most that came before it. Definitely in my top 5, and possibly in my top 3. Go see it. Now.
posted by Jeremy at 11/25/2006 03:51:00 PM
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