Casino Royale

by: Average Joe 2 years, 2 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 13 minutes ago

Release Date:

11/17/06

Series:

James Bond

 

I just got back from a late night showing of Casino Royale, and after sitting thru the latest 2 1/2hr Bond installment, it’s not the length of the film or the fact that it’s 2 am that has my head buzzing, it’s the fact that I was wrong about Daniel Craig.

Casino Royale takes us back to Bond’s beginnings, before he was the super suave secret agent we all know and love. In this film Bond starts off as a regular agent that is working towards his 00 status. Within the first 3 min of the film it’s made perfect clear that this is a totally different Bond we’re dealing with. Gone is the dark haired, tuxedo wearing, gadget sporting agent that rarely gets his hands dirty, and instead we’re introduced to James Bond...a blue eyed, sandy blond agent that has no problem dishing out an ass beating to anyone who gets in his way.

Now I will fully admit that when Craig was cast as 007 I, much like everyone else thought “you’ve got to be kidding me.” However after seeing the film and Craig in the role I will admit that I was wrong...for the most part. While I still would’ve liked to see the producers of the film work on his appearance a bit, Craig possesses all of the charm, sophistication, and charisma we’d expect from anyone stepping into the legendary role. While Craig is different from your Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and most recent Pierce Brosnan, he does play the character closer to Flemming’s original take on 007 in the classic novels.

The film itself is very well done. Everything from the settings, to the costumes, to the dialogue is done perfectly. While this is definitely the most physical Bond we’ve ever seen (you should see the foot chase in the beginning of the film) we’re not really given a physical villain for him to square off against. In fact the main showdown between Bond and the villain is done at a poker table at the infamous Casino Royale. I’d also like to mention that for those fans craving the hi-tech gadgets and high speed chases in the Astin Martin, you’re going to be disappointed as Bond really doesn’t use any gadgets other than his gun, and the car is featured for all of about 5 min....it’s still cool though.

In watching this film it became blatantly obvious that the producers were trying to take the character in a totally different direction than we’ve previously seen before. As I’ve mentioned before Bond, while charming and suave is basically a womanizer who likes to drink, play cards and get into fights. Most of the fighting Bond does is with numerous henchmen he encounters while in pursuit of the film’s main villain, and when I say this Bond is physical, what I really mean is brutal. Whether it’s beating them to death, throwing them down stairs, or drowning them in a bathroom sink, we’ve never really seen 007 like this, and that’s ok with me.

Now, while I’m not really sure if the intent with this film is to restart the Bond franchise from the beginning or just take us back to before he was a 007 agent, I really did enjoy seeing how Bond became Bond. Throughout the course of the film we get to see James evolve and mature, and by the end of the film he spouts out his classic “Bond, James Bond” line which left me believing that the next film will have Bond acting a bit more like we’ve seen him in previous films. Although I still hope they keep the physical aspect because for me that was one of the best parts of the film.

I can’t say enough about Craig as 007. Again, while I still would’ve prefered the dark hair (it’s a minor gripe, but the previous films imbedded 007 as having dark hair), I did find Craig to be extremely witty, and charming in his performance. His portrayal of Bond was very smooth, yet to the point. He chose his words carefully, and always knew the right thing to say. Even during a scene in which Bond is being tortured he delivers some of the film’s best lines.

Overall Casino Royale was a completely different, yet very enjoyable Bond experience. While I’m not sure where this leaves the franchise in terms of continuity, it was interesting to see how Bond became a 00 agent, and what lead him to become the ultra suave secret agent that we all know and love. While it may take a little while for hardcore fans to warm up to Craig as Bond, I think they not only will, but they’ll welcome his version as a fresh take, and a take closer to Flemming’s original vision.