Casino Royale

[CovenantJr]

Oddly haven't seen any of the Brosnan movies fully.

Goldeneye is the only one worth bothering with.

[Loredoctor]

Thankgod we have a return to the spy genre of Bond and not the silly gadgets/sci-fi Bond movies we've had in the past. Seems they were recycling themes from Goldfinger and most of Moore, so it's nice to go back to actual spy-themes that Fleming focused on.

[hierachy]

I am going to see it today, and try not to boo too loudly when they start doing parkour.

[Zarathustra]

Which brings me to one of the things I'm hoping for in Casino Royale: vulnerability. The film version of Bond has become too superhuman; there's no danger or struggle for him anymore. Hopefully Casino Royale will see a return to 007 genuinely taking his life in his hands with each mission.

Yes, you will see this. He's definitely not superhuman. And death is a very real threat in this movie. God, I'm tempted to say more!

It's odd that even though he's the most "vulnerable" Bond, he's also the most badass. Strange combination. I suppose he's vulnerable because the writers allow the possiblity of death to be real, rather than any weakness of the man himself. Though weaknesses like arrogance make him a bit overconfident, blind to certain threats. However, it's a cool arrogance, a "childlike" or playful arrogance closer to rashness, rather than any elitist conceit. I suppose it comes from this Bond being less experienced, earlier in his career.

[CovenantJr]

I saw Casino Royale this morning. Hmm, I can't be doing with typing out my short review again, so I'll steal it from my post on another site. You'll notice a couple of mentions of the poker game; that's because the members of the other site all whinged endlessly about that part dragging on. I disagree.

Anyway:

As planned, I saw Casino Royale today, and I'm utterly astounded. Fantastic film, and easily the best Bond film (and the best James Bond) since Sean Connery . In fact, it's probably better than the late Connery films. And I didn't think it was too long at all; somehow the length and unhurried pacing of the card game just seemed respectful to me, like the film makers were really taking the matter seriously. I approve. It didn't drag for me at all.

Possibly the most important thing about this film, for me, is the reality of it. All the characters, but most notably Bond and M, are people; they're given character, rather than just being templates. And Casino Royale puts secrecy back into the world's most famous secret agent. He follows people; he hides; he's subtle. All this has been sadly lacking in Bond films for the last thirty years or more. Now, thankfully, it's back with a vengeance.

I was pleased when I first saw Goldeneye, but this is the first time I've seen a new Bond film and been not just pleased but excited. It really is like starting over from scratch, and the future with Daniel Craig could be very bright indeed.

Do yourself a favour: see Casino Royale as soon as possible.

That isn't anywhere near everything I could say on the matter, but I don't want to overdo it. Bloody marvellous, in short.

[dlbpharmd]

Glad you liked, CJr.

[Zarathustra]

Saw it again tonight, this time with my wife. She hates Bond movies, but she said this is one of the best movies she's seen all year.

The only downer this time was this lady that kept talking out loud during every freakin' scene. She wasn't even talking to her friends. She was just talking to herself. Out loud. God I hate that. I'm the kind of person who has absolutely no problem telling someone to be quiet in a movie. I've had to do it about 6 times. I've even woken up someone who was snoring loudly during Titanic. But it always makes things tense afterwards, so this time I decided not to say anything until the very end. Yeah, I know: what's the point of saying something if you're going to wait until it's too late? Principle. That's why. I made up my mind to embarrass her in front of her friends and the whole theater so that next time she went into a movie, she would think twice before talking during the entire flick--and ruining my $30 experience. So, with about 10 minutes to go, I leaned way over, got in her face, and said loudly enough for several rows to hear, "The movie is almost over. Do you think you can shut up until the end?" Her eyes got real wide, and she said, "Sorry." Ah, the looks on everyone's faces was priceless. That was my favorite part of the movie. It's sad that my 5-year-old knew how to behave in a movie better than this adult.

Oh, I almost forgot. Check out this article about how badass Craig is:
www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4433&catid=2

[Lord Mhoram]

Malik, I can so see you doing that.

[Zarathustra]

Malik, I can so see you doing that.

That gave me a chuckle. Thanks LM.

More about Bond. (I can't stop thinking about this movie.) I've read on several forums how people didn't like the opening sequence, the absence of naked female silouettes . . . and the music. They said Chris Cornell was the wrong choice.

They are WRONG. I've loved Chris's music from Soundgarden, to his one solo album (heart-breakingly beautiful music), to his present Audioslave stuff (though I don't like it as much as Soundgarden). And I love this Bond song. I did some research about it online, and the guy who decided to give Chris a go said that he's always liked his music, too. He said Cornell's music is soulful and tough--just like the new Bond. I agree completely. The song sounds a lot like Chris's solo stuff. But it also still sounds like Bond. I like how they used the chorus melody throughout the movie. That melody is a perfect blend of Cornell and Bond.

And I like that there's not a bunch of objectified women floating throughout the title sequence. Don't get me wrong. I'm definitely not PC. And I definitely like the ladies--especially naked ones. But after a while, this juvenile cartoon caricaturization of women we've seen in all the previous Bond movies gets old. Eva Green's character is more real, more a WOMAN than all the previous ones, because she's more than t&a. There's a brain in there between the T and the A. Sure, this isn't a new concept. But it's new for a Bond movie.

[Loredoctor]

Malik, I can so see you doing that.

[CovenantJr]

People who disturb my cinema experience enrage me. When I saw the recent Wicker Man, there were teenagers doing Mexican waves throughout the whole thing. If it hadn't been a dreadful film anyway, I would have stopped them.

[Zarathustra]

People who disturb my cinema experience enrage me. When I saw the recent Wicker Man, there were teenagers doing Mexican waves throughout the whole thing. If it hadn't been a dreadful film anyway, I would have stopped them.

The worst I've ever encountered was an Asian couple who were talking NONSTOP in Japanese, Chinese, or whatever. After 5 minutes, I realized two things: 1) they were NOT going to shut up, and 2) the guy was translating every line of dialogue for his date. I realized the latter completely from the rhythm of his interruptions: a flurry of some Asian language after each line spoken onscreen. When I turned around and told them to put a lid on it, everyone around me applauded.

The complete disregard for others can be astounding, sometimes. It's like they don't realize there's an entire theater full of people who have paid way too much to see and hear the movie.

[Warmark]

I'm planning on seeing it tonight.

[CovenantJr]

Hope you enjoy it.

[Cole]

I'm in total agreement with the whole disturbances during the cinema thing. It's one of my pet peeves. I told a guy to shut up during King Kong and he told me to 'chill out'. Suffice to say that only served to piss me off even more. I barely tolerate people grazing next to me with their bloody popcorn. During Spiderman 3 I swear to god the bloke in front ate an entire cow during the movie.

Hate it! Hate it! Hate it!

[Worm of Despite]

I saw it last night with a friend who hates Bond movies, and he thought it was great. He didn't even know the name of the film when we went to get tickets!

But yeah. This one definitely revitalized the series. Reminded me of Batman Begins, in that both movies gave their respective franchise a much-needed shot in the arm. Bond had long been a parody of himself, far removed from the original vision of Fleming.

Spoiler

I was surprised at how long the actual poker sequence was, but it makes sense to have relatively little "big action" after the film's explosive first 1/3.

ALSO: MY THEATER'S SOUND $!#@$# SUCKED! Both this movie and The Departed had crappy sound (the Bond film being too quiet and The Departed constantly popping and crackling). And last night some asswipe kept texting on his cell phone, a few rows below; damn near blinded me! I wanted to throw some kind of heavy, barbed projectile at him. Man, I love outrage.

[CovenantJr]

Reminded me of Batman Begins, in that both movies gave their respective franchise a much-needed shot in the arm.

I had the same thought. Also, Batman Begins and Casino Royale both introduced greater grit and realism.

[Warmark]

Had no time to pre book tickets, so it was sold out last night. So i'm going tonight instead.

[Sandgorgon rider]

I've only read one of the Ian Flemming books, but Craig's Bond definitely seemed more like the character in the book than some of the other Bond's. I liked the movie, although I did get a little lost in the plot and there seemed to be several large plot holes that were difficult to ignore.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned young kids in the theater and I had the same experience. This movie is definitely a lot more bloody and violent than recent Bond movies and I would definitely urge people not to bring their kids.

Overall a wonderful, exciting movie.

[Zarathustra]

Plot holes? Like what?

I can see where someone might be skeptical of the idea that the bad guy (forgot the French name) would

Spoiler

seek refuge with MI6 if he lost the game. But he would certainly be in a tight spot nonetheless. It's at least plausible that he would trade his secrets for protection.