Watched "Casino Royale" last night

[ForrestGump]

The 2006 version, with Daniel Craig as James Bond.

I saw it in the theater on New Year's Eve 2006/07, and liked it, but gave it another look as part of my Bondwatching project of late (I grew up watching Roger Moore as James Bond and had managed to never see a Connery Bond movie, at least in its entirety, except for the pretty awful Never Say Never Again). I've now seen all the Connery films, as well as George Lazenby's outing, and have started again with Sir Roger's output. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I can pick a favorite actor for the role or say who was the 'best': I think a lot of people who grew up on Connery's Bond are biased by that very fact (his best films were arguably the second and third) just as the nostalgia of seeing Roger Moore's Bond on screen brings me happiness (my favorites of his would be The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only -- I don't think I ever saw Octopussy in its entirety though it sounds like a lesser entry and I do retain a soft spot for The Man With The Golden Gun, the first Bond film I saw). And I thought both Timothy Dalton, as a more realistic and gritter Bond, did a great job with his two projects (as did Lazenby with his, despite having never really acted before), and I liked Pierce Brosnan not just because I generally like him but because he really exemplified the suave Bond as personified by Moore but included a bit of a nod to the other actors who'd played Bond (I absolutely hated Die Another Day, though -- saw it during a long internatinal trip that gave me two chances to see it as an inflight movie and I was as nonplussed after the second viewing as I was after the first).

This new dude, though...phew. I can understand why some people object to him, because he's too 'rough' or projects a more working-class sensibility, but Ian Fleming thought the same of Connery until he saw the films. Besides, this film is not a continuation of what's come before but what people now seem to call a reboot, starting the franchise over again and beginning with the very first Fleming novel and James Bond as a newly-minted 00 agent. He's supposed to be rough, and uncertain, and prone to making mistakes. He seems to spend half the time on screen covered in blood, usually his own. Personally, I think Daniel Craig makes an excellent Bond, albeit one totally different than any that've come before (blond, kinda craggy and not really conventionally handsome, in some ways, and more bulked up even than early Connery), and he's really got the physicality of it down like nobody before (even Lazenby and Connery). This Bond's more of a brawler than the others and I'm sure, as the series goes on, he'll probably start to use his wits proportionally more than his fists...by the end of this film, even his character arc's taken him to a noticeably more shut-down and cold personality than at the start, though he's arguably a sociopath from the very start of the film. At the end of the film he has finally become JAMES BOND, dressed in a navy blue version of Connery's Goldfinger suit and worthy of uttering the classic "Bond...James Bond" line while the perennially cool theme from Dr No plays.

I love Roger Moore's kinder, gentler portrayal of Bond (though he did sometimes reveal the stone-cold killer aspect of Fleming's creation) but James Bond really is and should be someone who feels little to no compunction about using violence and basically being a rather nasty fellow -- still on the side of good, for want of a better word (on the side of the UK, really), because otherwise we'd feel no sympathy for him and he'd be no different than Blofeld and company. But, yeah, James Bond should be a hero but one that makes us feel uneasy at times because, for all his dashing charm and wit and perseverance, he can be a chillingly ruthless SOB (and, as Daniel Craig pointed out in an interview I just watched, regarding retaining Dame Judi Dench as 'M,' a misogynistic one). Craig's Bond is much more like Fleming's invention, more brutal than even Sean Connery's take.

Anyway, I'm impressed by Craig's debut even though he doesn't fit the Bond archetype (the movie archetype...from what I recall of all the Bond novels that I read in my early teens, he fits the original archetype very well, other than physically). The movie's also well done from a production point of view, with Martin Campbell directing. In general, it's a more realistic look at Bond, though there'll always be a sense of heightened realism surrounding him, I think (as contrasted to the excellent Bourne series of films), just because he's Bond. I'm looking forward to the next one.

For now, though, all I really wanted to do -- the whole reason for this post -- is to show y'all this clip from early in the film. If you haven't seen the film, this clip doesn't give anything away but it does show just what kind of Bond we're talking about here...in the theater (it was actually the last time I went to a movie theater) I was just totally enthralled by this chase scene. The man Bond is chasing, who turns out to be Sébastien Foucan, is a proponent of a form of movement called freerunning, or parkour (actually, the two things are different...I'd never heard of either but, as often seems the case, watching the film prompted me to read up on it all) and it's just amazing to watch. Bond is less sure of himself and possessed with less stamina and acrobatic ability (I like how he just runs through the wall, though his relative clumsiness compared to the other man also culminates in him creating an international incident with his one-man assault on a sovereign embassy) but that Foucan dude looks like he's channeling one of those videogame characters, like a Mario Brother, as he bounces from level to level. Pretty cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuZQfZ-WxTk

Now that's an action sequence. :D

[Deja Q]

1. It's in my top 3 favorite Bond films...

My top 8:

* From Russia With Love
* For Your Eyes Only
* Casino Royale (2006)

The remaining 5 come in a bit distant by comparison to the top 3:


* Goldfinger
* The Spy Who Loved Me
* Licence to Kill
* On Her Majesty's Secret Service
* The Living Daylights (though it's dated, Bond is presented exceptionally well)


My favorite 3 Bond actors:

* Timothy Dalton
* Daniel Craig
* Sean Connery

If Craig's sequel is on par or better, he moves to #1 with swift and sublime ease.

[ForrestGump]

30. Good choices

I've got to check out For Your Eyes Only again. Until Casino Royale, it was the last James Bond film I saw in the theater.

[elshiva]

2. You have got to see the original Casino Royale with

Woody Allen, David Niven, and Peter Sellars.

[Deja Q]

3. Woody Allen's presence and jokes is why any of it is watchable...

IMHO, of course... or would you believe I was pregnant?

:evilgrin:

[elshiva]

5. Woody Allen is great in that film.

"You can't shoot me! I have a very low threshold of death!" "My doctor says I can't have bullets enter my body at any time!"


Daliah: You're crazy! You are absolutely crazy!
Woody: They called Einstein crazy!
Daliah: That's not true! No one ever called Einstein crazy!
Woody: Well, they would have, if he carried on like this!

[Deja Q]

7. Hey, you forgot these!

[elshiva]

8. Yes, thank you.

Everyone goes to heaven except Woody.


six of the James Bonds "went to a heavenly spot,



the seventh one is going to a place where it's terribly... hot!"

[WinkyDink]

23. As a major JB aficionada, I was APPALLED at this travesty. IT STUNK.

[ForrestGump]

31. I haven't seen it since I was a young kid,

but I remember being utterly confused by it then. I might have to have another look, though.

[WinkyDink]

33. It's a "comedy" in the same sense "Clue" and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" were: NOT funny!

And since "Casino Royale" was one of my favorite Bonds (I didn't see Craig's, once I learned they changed the crucial card game to some other bit), plus I loved the Tijuana Brass' title song, I was severely disappointed at the parody approach.

[TheMightyFavog]

38. Too much for one James Bond?

That film was too much for one director.

[Aristus]

4. I agree. Craig is an excellent Bond. Looking at the whole series in the good light of day,

I'd have to say he is better than Connery. Although I liked a lot of what Connery did with the role, I was never a purist fanatic like a lot of his fans. Timothy Dalton is a vastly underrated Bond, and did well in his two films; he was kind of the prototype for the re-booted character: tough, cold, ruthless and even cruel. Just like Bond should be.

I think Craig exemplified perfectly the notion of being a "blunt instrument" wielded by the state for the national interest.

Although I grew up with Roger Moore as "my" Bond, he has become my least favorite of the series. There's a sense that even though you know he's going to get out of every scrape, you find you just don't care enough whether he does or not.

[ForrestGump]

32. It was an 80-mile roundtrip to the movies where I lived

from 1974 to 1980, so the few theater visits I had during those years were pretty much 'events.' And there's nothing quite like that first opening gun barrel bit and the classic music kicking in before the increasingly ambitious precredits sequence (the one from The Spy Who Loved Me, for example, has to be one of the coolest of all time, with that Union Jack parachute, and the ski jump off Asgard Peak must be among the single greatest stunts ever caught on film). So, yeah, definitely nostalgic going back to see those Moore films, even the one I was too young to go see -- Live And Let Die -- that I remember some of my friends raving on about and for which I saw tie-in merchandise all over the place.

I agree that it's a pity Timothy Dalton didn't do more films. He's not the only truly good actor to play James Bond, but he played him grittier than usual. Craig's kind of like Dalton on steroids, complete with the rage.

[pokerfan]

6. Possibly the best Bond film ever in my opinion

From Russia with Love had previously been my favorite.

My biggest knock on Moore, wasn't necessarily his acting as he is quite skilled. It's that he was handed some of the silliest scripts in the series. For Your Eyes Only was excellent, however and shows Moore as a more gritty, even ruthless 007 as in the scene where he kills Locque by kicking his car off the cliff.

The only redeeming aspect of Die Another Day was spotting the references to every single previous Bond film. Some were obviousl; others were pretty subtle.

Looking forward to the next installment this fall.

[supernova]

9. I really loved it too!

:D

Forrest! :hug: :hug: :hug: I missed you lately.

That kind of physicality I'll never be able to do, but it's fun to watch others. :-) Somewhere there's a YouTube of this guy explaining his technique. It's totally out there. Talk about making the most of your environment. :wow: And when they jumped from crane to crane! :wow: :wow:

I enjoy DC more than I did Roger Moore. Roger Moore was OK, but he lacked grit to me. DC brings that back. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of rough n ready w/ smooth civility, totally captivates me. *sigh*

I think the best Pierce Brosnan one was the first, Goldeneye, with my man Sean Bean. He's such a great villain and totally acted rings around PB. :P

[DS1]

10. Agreed, except for Brosnan. I never liked him as Bond.

It always seemed like he was doing a Moore Bond, and badly.

I grew up with Moore, and except for "For your eyes only", I mostly couldn't stand the guy. I thought Dalton was the best Bond, even ahead of Connery, but now I think Craig has taken it to a new level. We'll see, after the new one comes out. One movie is not enough to judge a Bond actor, but I suspect we'll see at least 3 from Daniel Craig.

When I saw him in Munich, he had this swagger and commanding build about him which I thought would be perfect for a Bond actor, and lo and behold, he was signed for Casino Royale.

Thanks for the clip, I might have to watch Casino again very soon.

edit: I have to disagree on you about the chasing of the Parkour guy, his approach takes much less energy, and that's important. That's thinking about the situation and adapting. He gets in the Embassy after a ride on a van, uses other systems to drop altitude quick and without bouncing down elevator shafts. He's thinking his way through things, instead of blindly following, but still tough enough to bust through a wall like it wasn't there.

[Initech]

15. Goldeneye was a solid film.

Tomorrow Never Dies had its moments. Everything else just went downhill after that.

[bridgit]

11. I like the new Bond franchise w/Craig

:thumbsup:

[Taverner]

12. I liked it

But you can't compare it to the other Bond films. It's like comparing Casablanca with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Different time periods, different National moods, different priorities.

[crimsonblue]

13. Craig is the best Bond ever

bar none. Connery has no acting talent.

[WinkyDink]

34. SC has it all over DC in the looks department.

[crimsonblue]

44. but could Connery laugh whilst his manhood was being bashed?

I think not. DC = most badass Bond ever. Plus, he cleans up nicely when he needs to wear a suit.

[Frank Cannon]

46. That, IMHO, was one of the best scenes in the entire series

"I've got a little itch... down there. Would you mind?"

[Initech]

14. I wish they had filmed the entire thing in black & white.

That opening scene is so fucking bad ass... one of the most bad ass Bond sequences ever put on film.

[LibraLiz1973]

26. No doubt! A totally kick ass opening

[Paladin]

16. I Really Liked It

First Bond flick I've seen that wasn't a glorified cartoon. Literate script, plenty of action. Let's have some more of this.....

[jobycom]

17. All the others seem let-downs now, to me.

I can't even finish watching another Bond film since CR came out, and I've watched it over a dozen times. Well over.

You hit on something that Flemming does in the book "Casino Royale." Bond wonders through the whole novel about how evil he is becoming, and whether the "good" he is fighting for justifies that. The movie touches this, but more on a personal level, with Bond worrying about losing himself. The book, though, is more explicit, with Bond questioning whether he is really just as bad as the other side. When the full gravity of what the other side has done to him and to those around him (trying not to spoil here) finally emerges, Bond decides (this won't be a surprise even it it's a spoiler) that the other side is so evil that his actions are necessary and virtuous, no matter the morality.

Flemming uses this basic theme throughout the series, and one gets the feeling that he's trying to overcome objections he's heard, not just to the literary Bond, but to the whole idea of a secret service and the liberties they are permitted to take. He himself was a foreign correspondent for a British wire service, IIRC, and is rumored to have seen some of what he wrote about close up.

Anyway, excellent post and review. That opening chase sequence is one of the very few I've enjoyed watching, and I'd never heard of freerunning, so thanks for putting a label to that. I usually view chase scenes as the opportunity to buy popcorn, but this was unique. Glad to see that one of the most tired film franchises could take the initiative in reinventing not only itself, but a cliche that had become a joke in American film.

The other chase I've seen recently that was just as good, maybe better, was in "The Bourne Ultimatum," through the alleys of Morocco, IIRC. They had similar elements, at times, and both had their own development as the chase progressed, rather than just having a series of fruit vendors and cafe tables knocked over.

[stuntcat]

18. he's MY new Bond

100%

very good revue :)

[bikebloke]

19. Apples and oranges

I view the various Bonds differently. Connery was my first, so I'm part of that crowd. I'm slowly gong through the films on DVD. Some are for the first time in wide screen and rich sound, which makes a difference. I look at the Moore films differently - they're lighter. Brosnan was a continuation of that vein. I liked Lazenby, but Diana Rigg didn't fit her part, probably due to Avengers viewing. Dalton was viewed on oft rented VHS tapes, so I'll reserve judgment until I've seen them again. I really like the direction Craig gone. And I was skeptical. Especially after that film where he snogged Rhys Ifans.

[sammythecat]

20. I never really cared for any of the other post-Connery Bonds,

but I thought Daniel Craig was great in Casino Royale. He seemed a perfect fit. I was surprised how much I liked the movie. Highly entertaining and, for me, one of the best Bond movies ever. I think the role is now his for as long as he wants it.

[jobycom]

22. That's gotta be a generational thing.

Connery always bored me. Lately I've grown to appreciate him, but I still don't see any clear superiority. I grew up on Moore, but I liked each of the later Bonds for different reasons, even if at times I didn't think the movies were well done. But Connery seems like a beat cop compared to the others. It's not about Connery, either, because I like him in most other things.

I wonder if it's generational, sociological, or psychological. Or pathological? Neurological... nah, probably not.

[sammythecat]

27. I think you're probably right about that.

I was somewhere around 10-12 when the first Bond movie came out and it just floored me. I never saw anybody as cool as James Bond. I was just on the verge getting into girls and Sean Connery's James Bond seemed like the perfect man. He was undeniably ruggedly handsome and athletic, and he had a look about him that made the Bond character's combination of quick wit, recklessness, and supreme confidence entirely believable.

Although it's hard for me to imagine, it's certainly possible, maybe probable, that if Roger Moore initiated me to James Bond, then he would have been my favorite and Sean Connery would seem just a little off. I'm like that with music a lot too. A cover better be real damn good or I won't like it. Kind of like that "the first is always the best" thing, I guess.

[jobycom]

28. Well, Moore probably appealed more to me that way.

Growing up in Mississippi, a clean cut, well spoken hero who could take care of himself without sounding like my neighbors was pretty appealing. I saw lots of people try to act like Connery--cigarette hanging out one side of his mouth, rumpled suit, fisticuffs... Maybe by the time I was old enough to appreciate Bond, Connery had become the stereotype all my neighbors were trying to emulate. Moore seemed noble, Connery common.

There's one scene that's always stuck with me. I can't remember which film, but I think it was Moonraker. After some chase scene, Moore has the bad guy dangling from his tie off the edge of a building. Up until now, he's been the gleaming eyed, jaunty gentleman, charming the women and amusing the men. But here, his eyes get hard as steel as he interrogates the baddie. When it's over, he swipes the tie out of the baddie's grasp and watches as he falls to his death. His expression is hard, brutal, fatal. Then he straightens his tie and is the jaunty gentleman again.

That's always been Bond for me. I never saw Connery able to make that transition. Brosnan did, Dalton did, even Lazenby did. But Connery always seemed monotone to me.

[ForrestGump]

29. That tie scene was from

The Spy Who Loved Me...just watched it again the other day.

And, yeah, I agree that it was a nice touch to remind people that Bond, even Roger Moore's version, was not necessarily a benevolently merciful man.

[1Hippiechick]

36. For me, no one but Sean Connery will ever be "Bond. James Bond." He was first, it was the 60s, and

he was sensual!

"A martini. Shaken, not stirred."

The 60s films are old-fashioned compared to the newer films, I guess. Just never could get into the films where someone other than Sean Connery played the part of "Bond. James Bond." Tried to watch, but just not the same.

[sammythecat]

43. Sensual indeed.

As sexual beings I think most all of us have a keen awareness of our competition. Who's a threat, how much of a threat, and who's not a threat. I think it's safe to say that most men in America, in those days, recognized the sex appeal of Sean Connery's James Bond. He was almost absurdly masculine and good looking, and he could make a fool any opponent, no matter how fearsome, powerful, or numerous, If the situation called for it, he could probably do it while holding a martini in one hand. Minutes later he'd be in bed with one, or more, of the most beautiful women in the world. All this before the movie even really got started. He was cool squared times the speed of light.

I was too young to date then, but I bet quite a few guys on dates left the movie theater feeling a little jealous and wishing the role had been given to somebody like Dick Cavett or the guy that played Mr. Whipple.

[krispos42]

21. That was an awesome scene

I was totally absorbed when I saw it on the big screen.

[madinmaryland]

24. Pffth! Seems like a pretty INANE movie to me.

[LibraLiz1973]

25. I LOVE that movie

I am a bond fan as well- I love watching them all.

I think Daniel took it to an 11.
Excellent performance- VERY engrossing.

I am looking forward to the new one!

[Frank Cannon]

35. Lifelong Bond fan here. "Casino Royale" ranks with the best Bond films.

And I would have to say Daniel Craig is the best for the role. Of all the people who have played James Bond, even Sean Connery, Craig was the first one who made me really believe that the character would (and could) rip off your head and shit down your neck if he wanted to. His portrayal is particularly close to the James Bond in the novels, who is a lot colder and more brutal than he is portrayed in the movies.

I can't wait for "Quantum of Solace", the next film in the series.

[1Hippiechick]

40. Great post. In retrospect, the 60s Bond now seems more a caricature

[old mark]

37. I have seen all the movies

...and I have ALL the books, going back to the very early 1960's. Connery's Bond was TOUGH and a little mean, and Craig is the best one since then, IMO.

I just saw Casino Royale last month and I loved it. The stunts in the opening few minutes are the best I have seen in any Bond film.
I do like the Roger Moore Bond - he is nothing like Fleming's written Bond, but the movies afe very funny, and that is also incorporated into the written character. Fleming has him described as a "blunt instrument", and he and mambers of his service are ethnocentric racists, as befits the late 50's when they were first written.

FWIW, Ian Flemming served in the British intelligence service in WWII, along with David Niven and Peter Ustinov, so he knew something about it for real.
ADDED: Again, FWIW, the new Royale became the highest grossing Bond film on its first release, and the 35th highest film of all time.


mark

[1Hippiechick]

41. Hmmmm...I may have to reconsider and look at the newer ones - Question:

Let me ask you a question: I never read Ian Fleming's books; rather just saw the early Bond movies. I have, however, read many of Robert Ludlum's books, first one being "The Matarese Circle, which I couldn't put down. Have you, by chance, read any Robert Ludlum and, if you have, how would you compare the two story-telling style of the two authors?

[old mark]

48. I read the first few Ludlum books,

find that I can't bring myself to read him any more.
IMO, he is a pompous bore, and I can't stand his writing.

The older Fleming books are pretty dated, and are collectables now, but are fun to read.
Fleming's writing is usually pretty good - he does not take himself or his characters too seriously, and he seems to have had fun writing them
FWIW, he served in the British intelligence service in WWII and used a lot of his experiences in the books. He also was a great skier and scuba diver, lived much of the time in Jamaica.

mark

[Blue_Tires]

39. i loved it and will be the first to see the next one...

[SKKY]

42. For me, Roger Moore will ALWAYS be THE James Bond...

...the others were good. But there was something uniquely "Bond" about Roger Moore.

[bridgit]

45. 4got2 mention, I like Craig in: Layer Cake, too...

:thumbsup:

[crimsonblue]

47. yup

me thinks it was a big reason he got the 007 gig...

[LynneSin]

49. I didn't like Craig at all as Bond

But then again I'm a woman and I found Pierce Brosnan absolutely dreamy. And you're right - "Die Another Day" sucked. I think they tried too hard with Halle Berry (although she was not the worse Bond Girl - that goes to Denise Richards) and talked about making a 'Bond-like' movie series with her Jinx character. But the movie turned out to be a disappointment that the Jinx series kinda went away.