This ain't your Daddy's James Bond.
As Christian Bale is to Adam West, so is Daniel Craig to Roger Moore. Casino Royale relaunches the James Bond franchise after 21 movies with a darker edge for an audience wanting more substance than ritualistic nostalgia. But rather than paralleling the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman, Casino Royale is more a story of how Bourne became Supreme.
Super MI6 agent James Bond completes the necessary requirements
to be promoted to double-0 status, which means he has a
license to kick, kill and screw whoever he wants in the
name of protecting the British Empire.
Before long he's kissed a few girls, blown up a few buildings
and finds himself heads up in a poker match against a villain
that weeps blood tears. It is all so very Bond.
And yet, not at all Bond. Daniel Craig's Bond isn't at all dapper or debonair.
He's what Timothy Dalton should have been, a brute who is
fast on his feet and faster with his fists. Shoe daggers
and exploding ballpoint pens are replaced with fancy Sony
cell phones. High stakes Baccarat is replaced with Texas
Hold 'em, presumably because no one really knows how to
play Baccarat.
While there are many familiar trademarks of a Bond film,
Aston Martins and shaken martinis, they appear in a more
natural manner rather than necessary nostalgic nods. Bond's
trademark gun barrel sequence and opening credits dance
routine seem almost camp in comparison.
Ultimately the film's success boils down to two things: the quality of the story and Daniel Craig's performance. Craig shines as his own unique version of Bond. He's perfect as brutish Bond just as Pierce Brosnan was a natural as the sophisticated Bond.
Whether trying to outsmart his foes or choke them to death, Craig handles the role with ease. He manages to be romantic and charming when necessary yet perpetually on the verge of transforming into the Hulk. Fans willing to put aside their historical assumptions of the James Bond character will be very surprised at how delicious this Bond is.
The story is solid for the most part. It moves at a fast past despite the fact the movie is almost 2 and ½ hours long. There is an archetypal Bond villain, but he's just an evil business man, not someone that is trying to take over the world while stroking his kitty cat.
The only real drag happens towards the end of the movie as it wraps towards a false finish, but at that point the audience is so confused as to what happened in the previous scenes, we're sure there is no way the film is over. 15 minutes later, there is that "oh that's what happened" moment, but it's a long 15 minutes that we are left clueless looking for answers from the person next to us. Sure enough it recovers in time, but it is a sour note on an otherwise enjoyable film.
French Actress Eva Green does an outstanding job holding
her own against Bond on film but her performance will probably
get lost in the shuffle of the Daniel Craig show. Likewise
Mads Mikkelsen portrays a enjoyable and believable Bond
antagonist albeit a two dimensional one by nature of the
script.
With a sequel already in preproduction for a November 2008 release, it's a sure thing that Daniel Craig will have another Bond adventure. The good news is that based on the quality of Casino Royale, fans will want to see it.
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