Nov 25, 2006 10:39 PM
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(Updated Nov 25, 2006 10:43 PM)
OK, seriously!!!
Having seen this film, I think Craig certainly picks up for the Bond franchise where Sir Connery left off (and I am not referring to Never Say Never Again, which I personally thought was one of the crappiest Bond movies ever made). Craig shines in this movie the way Sir Connery shone in Dr. No. but more on that later.
The book is fantastic. Permit me brief indulgence... Le Chiffre, is an agent for the Russian assassination agency, SMERSH and he runs a baccarat game at a French Casino to raise operational funds, in reality - recovering SMERSH's money that he lost in an attempt to establish a string of brothels. Mr. Bond, an expert card player himself, is sent to beat Chiffre, in the hope that the Russian agent's gambling debts will provoke SMERSH into killing him. After hours of intensive play, Bond manages to beat Le Chiffre, but only with extra money provided by the American CIA (Felix Leiter, who is observing the game covertly). The novel also goes into shades of Vesper Lynn, Bond's emotionally turbulent assistant and then lover who. . . oops, I just decided to stop there... for the benefit of those who have not yet seen the movie...
The plot from the novel has been adapted quite beautifully to give it a 21st century touch. I would say the movie stays with the underlying theme of card games and double crosses faithfully for the most part. No spoilers here but the chase sequence just blew my mind and it was most certainly an unexpected one. On that basis, plot and adaptation deserve 8/10.
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first novel, the one where we are introduced to James Bond, recently promoted to double-0 status. Fans of the Bond franchise would probably miss Q and his inventive gadgetry as well as Bond's finesse admirably portrayed by Moore and Brosnan in the later movies but lest you forget, Bond essentially started his life as a secret agent with a bad haircut and a winning talent at cards. He was also the quintessential ruthless butcher just promoted to the post of country squire's chef i.e. recently given double-0 status and having to learn the meaning of class and parallely working on admission to the higher echelons of human society by and by, without losing his graveyard sense of humour in the process.
Just for portraying this early character superbly, I personally thought Craig deserved an 8 or 9 out of 10. Supporting cast - Judi Dench as M, Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, Eva Green as Vesper Lynn, Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter and the host of others do their roles with ease and no fuss no muss. Craig is the scene stealer and his cruel charisma ("the bh is dead") is so reminiscent of Sir Connery's own. Cast performance deserves a 9/10.
I liked the opening soundtrack, "You Know My Name" performed by Chris Cornell of Audioslave and Soundgarden fame. The rest of the soundtrack was standard Bond fare, obtrusive where required or when introducing the Man... Soundtrack gets 7/10.
The cinematography deserves special mention, if at all for just two sequences - the chase sequence and the runoff at the airport. The movie itself was very fast paced (not unexpected) and shifting locales and I admit the cinematography kept adequate pace with it. What I did not like however was the penultimate sequences, which became more a "cops-and-robbers" style shootout and a fair bit of submersible action. I would give cinematography 7/10
Overall: I give the movie 8 out of 10 and I think its definitely watchable.
I am looking out for the next one, Bond 22, with Daniel Craig in the lead role. That will probably conclusively decide for me whether he is the greatest Bond ever!!! But hey, that's me.
Watch the movie, its great fun.
