"I'm sorry, that last hand, it nearly killed me."
CASINO ROYALE is the best Bond film since Sean Connery graced the screen as 007 in the late-60s. I'll put that observation out there, that bluntly and that quickly, because that's how the beginning of this film is. There is now a blonde Bond, Brit Daniel Craig, and one should expect to see a lot of him in the future, because this performance is going to send him through the stratosphere. Craig's approach to the now iconic film legend is a re-invented one, without the camp of Roger Moore, the false bravado of Timothy Dalton, or the GQ-ness of Pierce Brosnan, whom Craig replaced as Bond. His performance is right up there with the greatest that Mr. Connery gave in terms of entertainment value, and it is deeper and more complicated than that of The Great Scot.
After four Brosnan films, each of which were more implausible and over-the-top than their predecessor, the 007 franchise has experienced a 180 degree turn with Craig at the wheel. CASINO ROYALE starts before any of the other Bond films, as the Ian Flemming book was the first of the series. After a stunningly gorgeous and exciting black-and-white opening sequence, in which we see how Bond becomes a 00 agent, the traditional title sequence ensues. I won't delve into it too deeply, I'll just say it is very, very entertaining. It should be noticed that the credits refer to the film as "Ian Fleming's CASINO ROYALE", and this is exactly that. Gone are the save-the-world plots, the ridiculous gadgets, and the monstrous(ly unentertaining) action scenes that overshadowed the story over the last several entries into the series. Bond is a 'blunt instrument', as M (Judi Dench) puts it, and this film shows why.
In CASINO ROYALE, Craig pushes the artistic envelope in a role that has become more action-oriented over the years. He takes the role seriously but is still entertaining as hell, and that is the main reason why the film as a whole is so good. Surprisingly, the action, which other than Bond's name is the reason the series has been so successful, is the element that holds CASINO ROYALE back from true greatness. There are some truly spectacular scenes (the black-and-white beginning, an on-foot chase scene between Bond and a bombmaker in The Bahamas), but the action lingers too long in others. The real glue that holds the picture together is Bond's interaction not only with his new License to Kill, but with British Treasury agent Vesper Lynd (a beautiful Eva Green) sent to watch over him while he spends the country's money in a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. There, Bond faces off with Le Chieffe (Mads Mikkelsen), a financer of terrorist organizations who is in a pinch for cash. The poker scene, and a torture scene afterward involving Le Chieffe and a very much naked Bond are climactic and terribly exciting.
Where my interest began to slip was after these scenes. The interaction between Bond and Lynd could have wrapped up quickly and seemlessly, but director Martin Campbell and screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade drag the film for too long, seemingly to include one action sequence (an unneeded one) and a possible sense of continuity for later Bond entries, which isn't needed. If the 144-minute film had been cut down to a leaner 105 minutes or so, it would have probably been the best entry of the franchise yet (which would be saying something). Nevertheless, CASINO ROYALE should be seen for Craig's dynamite performance and for a darker, grittier, sexier look at what made James become Bond.
After four Brosnan films, each of which were more implausible and over-the-top than their predecessor, the 007 franchise has experienced a 180 degree turn with Craig at the wheel. CASINO ROYALE starts before any of the other Bond films, as the Ian Flemming book was the first of the series. After a stunningly gorgeous and exciting black-and-white opening sequence, in which we see how Bond becomes a 00 agent, the traditional title sequence ensues. I won't delve into it too deeply, I'll just say it is very, very entertaining. It should be noticed that the credits refer to the film as "Ian Fleming's CASINO ROYALE", and this is exactly that. Gone are the save-the-world plots, the ridiculous gadgets, and the monstrous(ly unentertaining) action scenes that overshadowed the story over the last several entries into the series. Bond is a 'blunt instrument', as M (Judi Dench) puts it, and this film shows why.
In CASINO ROYALE, Craig pushes the artistic envelope in a role that has become more action-oriented over the years. He takes the role seriously but is still entertaining as hell, and that is the main reason why the film as a whole is so good. Surprisingly, the action, which other than Bond's name is the reason the series has been so successful, is the element that holds CASINO ROYALE back from true greatness. There are some truly spectacular scenes (the black-and-white beginning, an on-foot chase scene between Bond and a bombmaker in The Bahamas), but the action lingers too long in others. The real glue that holds the picture together is Bond's interaction not only with his new License to Kill, but with British Treasury agent Vesper Lynd (a beautiful Eva Green) sent to watch over him while he spends the country's money in a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. There, Bond faces off with Le Chieffe (Mads Mikkelsen), a financer of terrorist organizations who is in a pinch for cash. The poker scene, and a torture scene afterward involving Le Chieffe and a very much naked Bond are climactic and terribly exciting.
Where my interest began to slip was after these scenes. The interaction between Bond and Lynd could have wrapped up quickly and seemlessly, but director Martin Campbell and screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade drag the film for too long, seemingly to include one action sequence (an unneeded one) and a possible sense of continuity for later Bond entries, which isn't needed. If the 144-minute film had been cut down to a leaner 105 minutes or so, it would have probably been the best entry of the franchise yet (which would be saying something). Nevertheless, CASINO ROYALE should be seen for Craig's dynamite performance and for a darker, grittier, sexier look at what made James become Bond.
A-
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