Casino Royale Film Review James Bond 007
Well, there’s been enough hype and publicity about the new film, indeed I myself have added to it, last night saw crunch time though - I went to see the new James Bond movie Casino Royale!
The opening sequence was shot in black and white and the producers used to to immediately stamp the new Bond on us. Daniel Craig portrays the character as much harder than previous actors, very much more akin to the original James Bond created by Ian Fleming.
Overall the film was excellent and is highly recommended. To do it justice I should really like to see it again at home on DVD. Given the almost impossible tightrope the film makers had to walk in keeping all the various factions happy I believe they delivered they best film they possibly could.
One thing is clear, Daniel Craig blew all his early critics out of the water, his performance was superb and I instantly accepted him as 007.
The film was quite long which makes a nice change, 1 and a half hour movies always leave me feeling short changed, this ran to nearly 2 1/2 hours.
To be critical the screenplay did seem a little flat in places and occasionally lacked a clear direction.
The casting was excellent and the main characters a fleshed out below.
James Bond - Daniel Craig
Fitted the part perfectly, an excellent actor who will continue to improve in the next 2 films I believe. I would expect him to be regarded as the second best Bond. Connery is probably unassailable in the #1 spot no matter what anyone else does.
Vesper Lynd - Eva Green
Played a blinder, great actress, looked stunning but played a serious role and was not there just for eye candy. She is someone who really is going places and this role was so well written that she need have no fear of being type cast.
Le Chiffre - Mads Mikkelsen
A convincing nemesis for Bond, sinister but in a realistic manner. Once again a departure for the franchise and a timely one. He could have been fleshed out a little more and given some more depth though.
M - Judy Dench
Grade one performance from a great actress, absolutely flawless, nothing more to be said
Solange - Catarina Murino
The Red Dress was designed by Jenny Packham
An English designer, it is available commercially, or certainly was available to buy.
Looked absolutely stunning. A nod to the Bond girls aspects that are probably still required in the film. These do attach some real glamour to the scenes and in this case were all done extremely well with no gratuitous bikini type shots. Incidentally, the red dress is perhaps the most stunning I have seen!
Valenka - Ivana Milicevic
Looked amazing, did what she did well enough, cannot compain
Felix Leiter - Jeffrey Wright
A small part, not a lot to write home about. Historically a more important character than suggested in this film
Mathis - Giancarlo Giannini
Plays a great part, only small but very well done. Feels more of a period character set in the original time of the book, Casino Royale was published in 1953.
Overall then, a marvellous effort and I look forward to seeing the whole thing again on DVD when I think it will grow in stature.
And for all those naysayers out there
Little Brother said,
November 19, 2006 @ 7:08 pm
Rod,
Solange and Valenka-they’d get it!!!!!
Bacon Snatcher said,
November 19, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
Redeye,
Could you post a Daniel Craig 007 training regime on the blog?
I could do with it after all that bacon!!!
Rod said,
November 19, 2006 @ 7:30 pm
LB,
they were indeed breathtakingly gorgeous - if only……..
Bacon Snatcher
I hope you are not suffering from pork poisoning!
I am considering violating GQ’s copyright and doing a DC workout for the site.
Watch this space
AtB
Goldeneye - You know the name, you know the number
sammy said,
November 26, 2006 @ 8:04 am
I grew up on the Bond films… Connery was my favorite, then Brosnan, Dalton Lazenby and Moore… in that order. All the previous Bonds where right for their time.
Daniel Craig however is without a doubt my favorite James Bond and has done a great job of filling the Role. Casino Royale 2006 is entertaining, believable and in my opinion the Best Bond film to date.
I especially liked the fact that there where no real gadgets and the fact that Bond is not invincible.
I look forward to more 007 movies with Daniel Craig as Bond.
Rod said,
November 26, 2006 @ 9:51 am
Sammy,
I agree, I feel that Craig will grow to be the best Bond over the next couple of films. Whether some people can see past Connery is another matter. I suspect they may believe DC to be the best but reluctant to admit it.
Thank for taking the time to post Sammy
All the best
Rod
Rosie Powell said,
November 29, 2006 @ 6:53 pm
[”Connery is probably unassailable in the #1 spot no matter what anyone else does.”]
This type of thinking is narrow-minded to me. Connery was no more the epitome of the James Bond character, any more than the other actors who did the role. Everyone wants to say that Connery was the best, because he was the first actor to have a success with the role.
Rod said,
December 1, 2006 @ 3:52 pm
Rosie
thanks for the comment and sorry for the late moderation, I got no notification.
I absolutely agree with you, personally I believe that Craig can be the best Bond, my point was, would enough people be able to see beyond Connery?
He had the good early books/scripts, period character setting, this also helped him just being in the right films at the right time.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and any comment you may leave in the future will be posted live immediately.
Regards
Rod