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- Thread starter Sloopy45
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Sloopy45
Pimp Minister Sinister
AKAK: "Well... I wouldn't worry about it... It would have been pretty lame.."
Oh, no question. The movie adaption would've probably been nothing like the novel, but not many of them are. Most of the Bond movies have the Title of a Fleming novel and star James Bond, but don't have much else in common.
For example, I never read it, but I think The Spy Who Loved Me is a romance novel. Plus, the Moonraker novel was Fleming's 3rd novel in 1955. All you have to do is see the movie to know it has nothing to do with any literature coming out of the mid-50's.
Oh, no question. The movie adaption would've probably been nothing like the novel, but not many of them are. Most of the Bond movies have the Title of a Fleming novel and star James Bond, but don't have much else in common.
For example, I never read it, but I think The Spy Who Loved Me is a romance novel. Plus, the Moonraker novel was Fleming's 3rd novel in 1955. All you have to do is see the movie to know it has nothing to do with any literature coming out of the mid-50's.
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Yeah-- Like I hinted at before... "You Only Live Twice" was about this crazy Asian villain with an Island full of all sorts of weird Plants and Animals and various genetically modified stuff... on the Other hand Goldfinger and Live and Let Die are pretty close... I read On Her Majesties secret Service... I don't remember much of how it coresponded with the film... Diamonds are Forever was similar in story line, but they added a bunch of stuff... I may Have Read From Russia With Love... but I don't remember for sure... None of them are especially long... and you can blast through them in a few hours... Maybe I'll read them all again for fun.
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stxbuck
Woody wore Sambas
The Spy Who Loved Me (the short story) has James Bond hooking up w/ a chick who is being chased by a bunch of hitmen in upstate New York.
The Living Daylights is a short story that is exactly like the opening scene of the movie by the same name-Bond intentionally missing a shot at a female sniper who plays the cello, and is gunning for a defector.
In "You Only Live Twice", the villian is Blofeld-Bond stangles him w/ his bare hands.
The Living Daylights is a short story that is exactly like the opening scene of the movie by the same name-Bond intentionally missing a shot at a female sniper who plays the cello, and is gunning for a defector.
In "You Only Live Twice", the villian is Blofeld-Bond stangles him w/ his bare hands.
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RogerMoore
Banned
You people need to get a fucking life
"The next time you're in Hawaii, I'll see to it that your ass is both shaken and stirred, psycho boy. MililaniBuckeye"
"The next time you're in Hawaii, I'll see to it that your ass is both shaken and stirred, psycho boy. MililaniBuckeye"
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Sloopy45
Pimp Minister Sinister
AKAK: "I read On Her Majesties secret Service... I don't remember much of how it coresponded with the film"
I thought the OHMSS was exactly taken from the book. (I never read the book so don't quote me on that). So much in fact that they had Blofeld not know who James Bond was in the movie, altough (in the movie timeline) they had already met in "You Only Live Twice."
"I may Have Read From Russia With Love... but I don't remember for sure... "
I think that the movie corresponds with the book pretty well. It was actually one of John F. Kennedy's favorite books. He once mentioned that publically, and it had a lot to do with the Bond movies getting made and the creation of Bond-mania.
stx: "In "You Only Live Twice", the villian is Blofeld-Bond stangles him w/ his bare hands."
I'd like to see Blofeld come back in a Brosnan Bond. They'll probably never bring back SPECTRE, Blofeld, Felix, or any of the old characters, but I think they could modernize it a lot and make a great movie. The way they killed Blofeld in For Your Eyes Only wasn't climactic enough for Bond's arch-villain.
And now (since I have nothing else to do this morning), I give you my complete favorite Bond movie list, from 1 to 20:
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Live and Let Die
3. Goldfinger
4. The Man With the Golden Gun
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Dr. No
7. License to Kill
8. From Russia With Love
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. The World Is Not Enough
11. Die Another Day
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Goldeneye
14. Thunderball
15. The Living Daylights
16. A View To A Kill
17. For Your Eyes Only
18. Octopussy
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Moonraker
RogerMoore: "The next time you're in Hawaii, I'll see to it that your ass is both shaken and stirred, psycho boy. MililaniBuckeye"
I thought that RogerMoore gave his farewell speech thread last week. What happened? And where is SalaciousBCrumb??
I thought the OHMSS was exactly taken from the book. (I never read the book so don't quote me on that). So much in fact that they had Blofeld not know who James Bond was in the movie, altough (in the movie timeline) they had already met in "You Only Live Twice."
"I may Have Read From Russia With Love... but I don't remember for sure... "
I think that the movie corresponds with the book pretty well. It was actually one of John F. Kennedy's favorite books. He once mentioned that publically, and it had a lot to do with the Bond movies getting made and the creation of Bond-mania.
stx: "In "You Only Live Twice", the villian is Blofeld-Bond stangles him w/ his bare hands."
I'd like to see Blofeld come back in a Brosnan Bond. They'll probably never bring back SPECTRE, Blofeld, Felix, or any of the old characters, but I think they could modernize it a lot and make a great movie. The way they killed Blofeld in For Your Eyes Only wasn't climactic enough for Bond's arch-villain.
And now (since I have nothing else to do this morning), I give you my complete favorite Bond movie list, from 1 to 20:
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Live and Let Die
3. Goldfinger
4. The Man With the Golden Gun
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Dr. No
7. License to Kill
8. From Russia With Love
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. The World Is Not Enough
11. Die Another Day
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Goldeneye
14. Thunderball
15. The Living Daylights
16. A View To A Kill
17. For Your Eyes Only
18. Octopussy
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Moonraker
RogerMoore: "The next time you're in Hawaii, I'll see to it that your ass is both shaken and stirred, psycho boy. MililaniBuckeye"
I thought that RogerMoore gave his farewell speech thread last week. What happened? And where is SalaciousBCrumb??
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0
I was thinking that a while back... After Goldeneye there was some speculation about where they were going to go with the villains... and I thought it might be an opportunity to bring back a Spectre type organization (Since they had sort of 'made peace' with the end of the cold war)... If they did bring back SPECTRE and Blofeld and what not, I thought they should do a pair of movies with a cliffhanger at the end of the first one... where there is this big 'fight' of somekind with Blofeld and you don't know who lives at the end... but I love that kind of crap.
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Sloopy45
Pimp Minister Sinister
AKAK: "If they did bring back SPECTRE and Blofeld and what not, I thought they should do a pair of movies with a cliffhanger at the end of the first one"
I think that's a good idea. Maybe they can get the 'Casino Royale' name back and script up a whole new movie entirely with Brosnan and all the old Bond elements. That would be a great way to bring Blofeld back.
As far as my top "other" categories:
Hottest (overall) Bond chick: (tie) Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova: great skinny bod with big, perky guns. Great smile, great European look, nice style. And she still looks hot today. Ringo Starr is a happy man. Jayne Seymour (Solitaire): she looks stunning in Live & Let Die. She's still a gorgeous woman, but when she was younger she could easily pass for the most beautiful girl on the planet.
Best Theme Song: "Nobody Does It Better," Carly Simon: Great song, and it really sets the tone for a great movie. The quintissential Bond song, in my eyes.
Best guns on a Bond chick: Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore: she's about 90 years old today, and I bet that rack is still happenin'. Honorable mention to Dr. Christmas Jones, Denise Richards: probably the 2 best reasons to see The World Is Not Enough.
Best name for a Bond chick: Plenty to choose from here: Pussy Galore, Kissy Suzuki, Mary Goodnight, Dr. Holly Goodhead, and Octopussy ... but my vote goes to: Plenty O'Toole. Bond quips at her, "Named after your father, perhaps."
Best Bond Henchman: Would have to be Jaws. (I think) he's the only henchman to come back for two movies, because he was such a hit with the fans. A great idea and a complete bad-ass.
I think that's a good idea. Maybe they can get the 'Casino Royale' name back and script up a whole new movie entirely with Brosnan and all the old Bond elements. That would be a great way to bring Blofeld back.
As far as my top "other" categories:
Hottest (overall) Bond chick: (tie) Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova: great skinny bod with big, perky guns. Great smile, great European look, nice style. And she still looks hot today. Ringo Starr is a happy man. Jayne Seymour (Solitaire): she looks stunning in Live & Let Die. She's still a gorgeous woman, but when she was younger she could easily pass for the most beautiful girl on the planet.
Best Theme Song: "Nobody Does It Better," Carly Simon: Great song, and it really sets the tone for a great movie. The quintissential Bond song, in my eyes.
Best guns on a Bond chick: Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore: she's about 90 years old today, and I bet that rack is still happenin'. Honorable mention to Dr. Christmas Jones, Denise Richards: probably the 2 best reasons to see The World Is Not Enough.
Best name for a Bond chick: Plenty to choose from here: Pussy Galore, Kissy Suzuki, Mary Goodnight, Dr. Holly Goodhead, and Octopussy ... but my vote goes to: Plenty O'Toole. Bond quips at her, "Named after your father, perhaps."
Best Bond Henchman: Would have to be Jaws. (I think) he's the only henchman to come back for two movies, because he was such a hit with the fans. A great idea and a complete bad-ass.
Upvote
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Casino Royale Early Press Reviews
Who would have thought that the casting of a blond Bond would stir up such a hornet?s nest of controversy?
Daniel Craig has been the subject of fevered speculation and a good few personal attacks since he signed on as the sixth Bond, and even now there are threats of boycotts in some sectors of the online community.
But despite the antipathy to the idea of Craig as Bond, it?s all good news for EON productions. Although the previous instalment was drubbed by critics and audiences alike, the fans still care enough about the Bond series to get angry.
While Die Another Day was a box-office draw, in it Bond was in danger of losing something equally valuable to the franchise in the long term: his cool. It was the invisible car that did it. That, and a blanket of special effects that could smother the life out of the best of screenplays ? and let?s face it, Die Another Day was not the best of screenplays.
In The Bourne Identity?s Jason Bourne and 24?s Jack Bauer, special agents who share Bond?s initials but little else, the lumbering, longrunning franchise met its match. That much-derided vanishing Aston Martin in Bond?s 20th official outing sealed the fate of 007 as we had come to know him
With Bond No 21, in what the producers are describing as a ?reboot? of the franchise, Casino Royale takes us back to basics: to Bond?s early years as a newly appointed 00; to a leaner, lower-budget production and to a Bond who looks like he can do some serious damage, rather than just smarm his way out of a tight spot and disappear on a mini-nuclear submarine disguised as a Biro.
For this picture, which lists Paul Haggis, who wrote Crash, as one of its screenwriters, the action is less reliant on the sillier gadgets favoured in the Brosnan era (although fortunately Bond does have a portable defibrillator in his car). Instead the film stakes its reputation on one formidable weapon ? Daniel Craig?s ruthless, reckless Bond.
Every decade gets the Bond it deserves and we are living in some pretty scary times. Craig is up there with the best: he combines Sean Connery?s athleticism and cocksure swagger with Timothy Dalton?s thrilling undercurrent of stone-cold cruelty. While the rather foppish Pierce Brosnan had the bland chiselled looks of a male catalogue model, Craig?s face is endlessly fascinating. It?s brutishly ugly ? he looks like he?d stab you in the eye if you crossed him, and would probably enjoy doing it. But his sex appeal is off the scale. He even makes his first assassination an unsettlingly erotic experience. His Bond bleeds, bruises, makes fatal mistakes.
The chemistry between Craig and his co-star and love interest Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is explosive. The relationship is founded on prickly admiration, but it?s when they both peel away their defences that things get interesting. A scene where Bond comforts a traumatised Vesper in the shower by gently sucking her fingers is impossibly sexy.
Vesper is the treasury accountant who is bankrolling Bond?s mission to break the bank at a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro. The target is Le Chiffre (Danish star Mads Mikkelsen), an international money launderer with a Hitler haircut, a platinum asthma inhaler and a tendency to bleed from the eye. They might as well have just tattooed the word Evil on his head.
In this new, edgy Bond, the stunts are more physical and the violence raw. An early chase sequence appropriates the free running techniques popularised in Paris to impressive, if ludicrous, effect. And there?s a genuinely horrible torture sequence where Bond suffers some unpleasant genital trauma.
Craig has an impressive physique (generously displayed) that makes him a far more plausible Bond than many of his predecessors. But his main asset quickly becomes evident. He can act.
Turning to face the world's most famous superspy, the bartender asks: "Shaken or stirred, sir?"
"Do I look like I care?" comes James Bond's icy reply.
Make no mistake, the rulebook has been well and truly torn up for 007's latest movie.
And Casino Royale is a breathless, thrilling romp that will win over a whole new generation of fans.
Easily the best Bond film since GoldenEye, it's 144 minutes of non-stop, end-to-end action that proves there's plenty of life in the world's longest-running movie franchise.
But a word of warning - this is unlike any other Bond flick. Dark, gritty and surprisingly violent, the suave, smooth-talking secret agent of old is replaced by a steely-eyed killer with a dash of vulnerability.
And new 007 Daniel Craig - the man with the golden hair, whose casting provoked an outcry among fans - is simply brilliant, oozing the kind of edgy menace that recalls Sean Connery at his very best.
Based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, the action begins with Her Majesty's finest assassinating two baddies in a bid to earn his licence to kill. It then switches to his first assignment, spying on terrorist suspects in Madagascar.
His mission soon leads him to the Bahamas, where he learns of the evil Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), who's planning to bankroll a series of terrorist outrages by holding a high-stakes poker contest at Le Casino Royale in Montenegro.
Bond is given $10million to infiltrate the game, the rookie spy still isn't trusted enough by handler M (Judi Dench), who assigns the shapely Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to keep an eye on him - though 007 still manages to get to grips with mysterious Solange (Caterina Murino).
It's fitting that the film revolves around a card game since, by turning the Bond formula on its head, director Martin Campbell has taken one of the biggest gambles in cinema history. While 007 still gets to drive around exotic locales in his Aston Martin and ends up in a clinch with his leading lady, that's about the only thing Casino Royale has in common with the 20 films that have come before.
Aside from his readiness to kill, this Bond is far more vulnerable than his predecessors - not only does he have his heart broken, he also winds up almost dead after a severe beating at the hands of Le Chiffre.
After a pummelling, Connery and Roger Moore simply dusted off their DJs but this time 007 winds up on the critical list. And if the torture scene doesn't stun, the action set-pieces most certainly will.
Aside from some awesome chases, we get to see Bond trying to stop a jet being blown up in a scene that'll make your head spin faster than downing five vodka martinis.
Tellingly, Campbell is the man who re-energised the series with GoldenEye, the 1995 entry that introduced Pierce Brosnan.
And, incredibly, he's done it again, turning a franchise that, after 2002's Die Another Day, was looking distinctly second-rate - especially in the face of competition from the likes of Mission: Impossible and The Bourne Identity.
The year's most eagerly anticipated film does not disappoint. You'll be shaken. You'll be stirred. Heck, you'll be blown away.
The Bond movies have been getting steadily more and more gadget-ridden and less and less about the character of James Bond.
Casino Royale takes us back to the basics.
At one point, Bond even drives a Ford Mondeo (though don't worry, he soon gets an Aston Martin).
Daniel Craig is probably the best and most serious actor to have been cast as 007 and this film makes full use of his range.
He's also the toughest and most virile leading man since Russell Crowe's Maximus in Gladiator. The numerous shots of his torso and piercing blue eyes will, I suspect, make many in the female audience extremely happy.
And he develops the character very skilfully. When he starts he is - as M (Judi Dench) tells him - 'a blunt instrument'. By the end, he's the sharpest tool in the box.
As if to show us that we're going back to basics, the pre-title sequence - traditionally a huge, stunt-driven action sequence - is in sombre black and white.
And the titles tell us something that has not been true of the last few Bond films - it is 'based on the novel by Ian Fleming'. To reassure us that this will, at the same time, be very 21st century, the first action sequence is all about 'free running', where a bomber is pursued by Craig over rooftops, along a tall crane and into an embassy.
Craig does a lot of his own running and jumping - indeed, he does more of this in half an hour than Roger Moore managed in all of his appearances put together.
There's a real problem with parts of the movie. A deliberate policy decision has been made by director Martin Campbell (who directed the first Brosnan Bond film, Goldeneye) that many of the action sequences happen before we know who Bond is chasing and fighting, or why. It's generally left to Judi Dench to supply the explanation, after the event.
This unusual approach makes for some minutes when we can't concentrate on the action because we're wondering if we've missed something. Well, we haven't. We just haven't been told what's happening yet.
Another weakness is that Le Chiffre is one of Fleming's drabber villains, and Mads Mikkelsen does-n't give him much personality. Le Chiffre means 'the cipher', and it's all too apt.
The premise behind the plot is that Le Chiffre subsidises terrorists, but for financial gain, not out of any religious or ideological doctrine. This feels a little weak as motivation and during the first less-than-gripping hour I noticed people walking in and out of the movie as children do during a panto matinee - not a good sign.
The film really starts to hold the attention during a mammoth game of poker, during which Bond suffers poisoning and cardiac arrest but demonstrates superhuman powers of recovery.
His recuperative abilities also come in handy after the most famous scene in the book, a torture session at the hands - or rather the knotted rope - of Le Chiffre. In no time at all, Bond is back on his feet, with his manhood miraculously intact, and enthusiastically wooing the femme fatale of the piece, Vesper Lynd (played, extremely attractively, by Eva Green).
This film may be about the making of Bond into a smooth, coldhearted killing machine but there's still room for humour.
I especially liked the moment when he orders a vodka martini. The barman asks 'Shaken, not stirred?' And the still-rough-around-the-edges Bond pierces him with a look of contempt and remarks 'Do I look like I give a damn?'
Daniel Craig is much better at comedy than I thought he would be. But he really comes into his own when he has to choose between his job and a woman, and chooses the woman.
None of the previous Bonds could have carried this scene off with the same depth or sincerity.
Will Casino Royale be a huge hit and continue the franchise? I think it will.
It's as action-packed, globe-trotting and luxurious as ever - though I could have wished for more motivation for the action, and therefore more involvement in it.
But the big strength of the film is that it takes us further inside Bond's head than ever. Despite showing us his sensitive side, Craig looks a far more convincing killer than any 007 since Connery.
Will the public warm to him? I'm not 100 per cent certain, but over the next couple of Bond movies, for which he's already signed up, it should at least be fun finding out.
For decades, the debate among 007 fans has been who is the best Bond ? Sean Connery or Roger Moore.
Now a new contender has arrived, in the shape of Daniel Craig ? the blond 38-year-old, who despite being a cold-blooded killer, manages to fall in love with his Bond girl and show emotional vulnerability.
The critics were struggling to contain their excitement last night, ahead of the first British screening of the 21st Bond film, Casino Royale. And when they came out of the showing, they were thrilled.
The ?57 million production is perhaps the most eagerly-awaited Bond film ever. The film begins in black and white, but then the credits roll and amazing technicolour returns.
Sean Connery played the first Bond in 1962 and he played him sexy and tough. Moore, with his trademark arching eyebrow movement and knowing glances, was sexy and humorous.
But last night, there were no doubts Craig ? who has been romantically linked to Sienna Miller and Kate Moss ? possesses the hard-man credentials which might make him many millions more fans.
"It's terrific," said one critic. "This is going to be the prequel to all other Bonds. There are a lot of fans who prefer either Moore or Connery but Craig could be better.
"This will make Craig a worldwide star. The James Bond films are watched absolutely everywhere."
"Casino Royale is the story of how Bond got started, before he became 007," he said. "Daniel Craig is such a good actor. He plays him as strong but emotionally vulnerable. For the first time you see Bond's sensitive side."
There is no sexual innuendo in this film; Craig's Bond is more sophisticated than that. And the film makers have been sure to show the consequences of violence ? he bleeds.
Ian Fleming introduced the fictional British spy in 1952 with Casino Royale, which was the first Bond novel.
Craig depicts a character who is tough and gritty and while the plot of good versus evil is the same, there is no Miss Moneypenny.
If Bond has been a role-model for playboys across the generations, Craig's 007 is not only interested in seduction. He falls deeply in love with his Vesper Lynd.
The Treasury agent is played by Eva Green, an actress who starred in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers to critical praise.
Green, 26, said recently of her latest role: "I am not just a bimbo in a bikini."
http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_21_press_reviews.php3?t=bond21&s=bond21
Who would have thought that the casting of a blond Bond would stir up such a hornet?s nest of controversy?
Daniel Craig has been the subject of fevered speculation and a good few personal attacks since he signed on as the sixth Bond, and even now there are threats of boycotts in some sectors of the online community.
But despite the antipathy to the idea of Craig as Bond, it?s all good news for EON productions. Although the previous instalment was drubbed by critics and audiences alike, the fans still care enough about the Bond series to get angry.
While Die Another Day was a box-office draw, in it Bond was in danger of losing something equally valuable to the franchise in the long term: his cool. It was the invisible car that did it. That, and a blanket of special effects that could smother the life out of the best of screenplays ? and let?s face it, Die Another Day was not the best of screenplays.
In The Bourne Identity?s Jason Bourne and 24?s Jack Bauer, special agents who share Bond?s initials but little else, the lumbering, longrunning franchise met its match. That much-derided vanishing Aston Martin in Bond?s 20th official outing sealed the fate of 007 as we had come to know him
With Bond No 21, in what the producers are describing as a ?reboot? of the franchise, Casino Royale takes us back to basics: to Bond?s early years as a newly appointed 00; to a leaner, lower-budget production and to a Bond who looks like he can do some serious damage, rather than just smarm his way out of a tight spot and disappear on a mini-nuclear submarine disguised as a Biro.
For this picture, which lists Paul Haggis, who wrote Crash, as one of its screenwriters, the action is less reliant on the sillier gadgets favoured in the Brosnan era (although fortunately Bond does have a portable defibrillator in his car). Instead the film stakes its reputation on one formidable weapon ? Daniel Craig?s ruthless, reckless Bond.
Every decade gets the Bond it deserves and we are living in some pretty scary times. Craig is up there with the best: he combines Sean Connery?s athleticism and cocksure swagger with Timothy Dalton?s thrilling undercurrent of stone-cold cruelty. While the rather foppish Pierce Brosnan had the bland chiselled looks of a male catalogue model, Craig?s face is endlessly fascinating. It?s brutishly ugly ? he looks like he?d stab you in the eye if you crossed him, and would probably enjoy doing it. But his sex appeal is off the scale. He even makes his first assassination an unsettlingly erotic experience. His Bond bleeds, bruises, makes fatal mistakes.
The chemistry between Craig and his co-star and love interest Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is explosive. The relationship is founded on prickly admiration, but it?s when they both peel away their defences that things get interesting. A scene where Bond comforts a traumatised Vesper in the shower by gently sucking her fingers is impossibly sexy.
Vesper is the treasury accountant who is bankrolling Bond?s mission to break the bank at a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro. The target is Le Chiffre (Danish star Mads Mikkelsen), an international money launderer with a Hitler haircut, a platinum asthma inhaler and a tendency to bleed from the eye. They might as well have just tattooed the word Evil on his head.
In this new, edgy Bond, the stunts are more physical and the violence raw. An early chase sequence appropriates the free running techniques popularised in Paris to impressive, if ludicrous, effect. And there?s a genuinely horrible torture sequence where Bond suffers some unpleasant genital trauma.
Craig has an impressive physique (generously displayed) that makes him a far more plausible Bond than many of his predecessors. But his main asset quickly becomes evident. He can act.
Turning to face the world's most famous superspy, the bartender asks: "Shaken or stirred, sir?"
"Do I look like I care?" comes James Bond's icy reply.
Make no mistake, the rulebook has been well and truly torn up for 007's latest movie.
And Casino Royale is a breathless, thrilling romp that will win over a whole new generation of fans.
Easily the best Bond film since GoldenEye, it's 144 minutes of non-stop, end-to-end action that proves there's plenty of life in the world's longest-running movie franchise.
But a word of warning - this is unlike any other Bond flick. Dark, gritty and surprisingly violent, the suave, smooth-talking secret agent of old is replaced by a steely-eyed killer with a dash of vulnerability.
And new 007 Daniel Craig - the man with the golden hair, whose casting provoked an outcry among fans - is simply brilliant, oozing the kind of edgy menace that recalls Sean Connery at his very best.
Based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, the action begins with Her Majesty's finest assassinating two baddies in a bid to earn his licence to kill. It then switches to his first assignment, spying on terrorist suspects in Madagascar.
His mission soon leads him to the Bahamas, where he learns of the evil Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), who's planning to bankroll a series of terrorist outrages by holding a high-stakes poker contest at Le Casino Royale in Montenegro.
Bond is given $10million to infiltrate the game, the rookie spy still isn't trusted enough by handler M (Judi Dench), who assigns the shapely Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to keep an eye on him - though 007 still manages to get to grips with mysterious Solange (Caterina Murino).
It's fitting that the film revolves around a card game since, by turning the Bond formula on its head, director Martin Campbell has taken one of the biggest gambles in cinema history. While 007 still gets to drive around exotic locales in his Aston Martin and ends up in a clinch with his leading lady, that's about the only thing Casino Royale has in common with the 20 films that have come before.
Aside from his readiness to kill, this Bond is far more vulnerable than his predecessors - not only does he have his heart broken, he also winds up almost dead after a severe beating at the hands of Le Chiffre.
After a pummelling, Connery and Roger Moore simply dusted off their DJs but this time 007 winds up on the critical list. And if the torture scene doesn't stun, the action set-pieces most certainly will.
Aside from some awesome chases, we get to see Bond trying to stop a jet being blown up in a scene that'll make your head spin faster than downing five vodka martinis.
Tellingly, Campbell is the man who re-energised the series with GoldenEye, the 1995 entry that introduced Pierce Brosnan.
And, incredibly, he's done it again, turning a franchise that, after 2002's Die Another Day, was looking distinctly second-rate - especially in the face of competition from the likes of Mission: Impossible and The Bourne Identity.
The year's most eagerly anticipated film does not disappoint. You'll be shaken. You'll be stirred. Heck, you'll be blown away.
The Bond movies have been getting steadily more and more gadget-ridden and less and less about the character of James Bond.
Casino Royale takes us back to the basics.
At one point, Bond even drives a Ford Mondeo (though don't worry, he soon gets an Aston Martin).
Daniel Craig is probably the best and most serious actor to have been cast as 007 and this film makes full use of his range.
He's also the toughest and most virile leading man since Russell Crowe's Maximus in Gladiator. The numerous shots of his torso and piercing blue eyes will, I suspect, make many in the female audience extremely happy.
And he develops the character very skilfully. When he starts he is - as M (Judi Dench) tells him - 'a blunt instrument'. By the end, he's the sharpest tool in the box.
As if to show us that we're going back to basics, the pre-title sequence - traditionally a huge, stunt-driven action sequence - is in sombre black and white.
And the titles tell us something that has not been true of the last few Bond films - it is 'based on the novel by Ian Fleming'. To reassure us that this will, at the same time, be very 21st century, the first action sequence is all about 'free running', where a bomber is pursued by Craig over rooftops, along a tall crane and into an embassy.
Craig does a lot of his own running and jumping - indeed, he does more of this in half an hour than Roger Moore managed in all of his appearances put together.
There's a real problem with parts of the movie. A deliberate policy decision has been made by director Martin Campbell (who directed the first Brosnan Bond film, Goldeneye) that many of the action sequences happen before we know who Bond is chasing and fighting, or why. It's generally left to Judi Dench to supply the explanation, after the event.
This unusual approach makes for some minutes when we can't concentrate on the action because we're wondering if we've missed something. Well, we haven't. We just haven't been told what's happening yet.
Another weakness is that Le Chiffre is one of Fleming's drabber villains, and Mads Mikkelsen does-n't give him much personality. Le Chiffre means 'the cipher', and it's all too apt.
The premise behind the plot is that Le Chiffre subsidises terrorists, but for financial gain, not out of any religious or ideological doctrine. This feels a little weak as motivation and during the first less-than-gripping hour I noticed people walking in and out of the movie as children do during a panto matinee - not a good sign.
The film really starts to hold the attention during a mammoth game of poker, during which Bond suffers poisoning and cardiac arrest but demonstrates superhuman powers of recovery.
His recuperative abilities also come in handy after the most famous scene in the book, a torture session at the hands - or rather the knotted rope - of Le Chiffre. In no time at all, Bond is back on his feet, with his manhood miraculously intact, and enthusiastically wooing the femme fatale of the piece, Vesper Lynd (played, extremely attractively, by Eva Green).
This film may be about the making of Bond into a smooth, coldhearted killing machine but there's still room for humour.
I especially liked the moment when he orders a vodka martini. The barman asks 'Shaken, not stirred?' And the still-rough-around-the-edges Bond pierces him with a look of contempt and remarks 'Do I look like I give a damn?'
Daniel Craig is much better at comedy than I thought he would be. But he really comes into his own when he has to choose between his job and a woman, and chooses the woman.
None of the previous Bonds could have carried this scene off with the same depth or sincerity.
Will Casino Royale be a huge hit and continue the franchise? I think it will.
It's as action-packed, globe-trotting and luxurious as ever - though I could have wished for more motivation for the action, and therefore more involvement in it.
But the big strength of the film is that it takes us further inside Bond's head than ever. Despite showing us his sensitive side, Craig looks a far more convincing killer than any 007 since Connery.
Will the public warm to him? I'm not 100 per cent certain, but over the next couple of Bond movies, for which he's already signed up, it should at least be fun finding out.
For decades, the debate among 007 fans has been who is the best Bond ? Sean Connery or Roger Moore.
Now a new contender has arrived, in the shape of Daniel Craig ? the blond 38-year-old, who despite being a cold-blooded killer, manages to fall in love with his Bond girl and show emotional vulnerability.
The critics were struggling to contain their excitement last night, ahead of the first British screening of the 21st Bond film, Casino Royale. And when they came out of the showing, they were thrilled.
The ?57 million production is perhaps the most eagerly-awaited Bond film ever. The film begins in black and white, but then the credits roll and amazing technicolour returns.
Sean Connery played the first Bond in 1962 and he played him sexy and tough. Moore, with his trademark arching eyebrow movement and knowing glances, was sexy and humorous.
But last night, there were no doubts Craig ? who has been romantically linked to Sienna Miller and Kate Moss ? possesses the hard-man credentials which might make him many millions more fans.
"It's terrific," said one critic. "This is going to be the prequel to all other Bonds. There are a lot of fans who prefer either Moore or Connery but Craig could be better.
"This will make Craig a worldwide star. The James Bond films are watched absolutely everywhere."
"Casino Royale is the story of how Bond got started, before he became 007," he said. "Daniel Craig is such a good actor. He plays him as strong but emotionally vulnerable. For the first time you see Bond's sensitive side."
There is no sexual innuendo in this film; Craig's Bond is more sophisticated than that. And the film makers have been sure to show the consequences of violence ? he bleeds.
Ian Fleming introduced the fictional British spy in 1952 with Casino Royale, which was the first Bond novel.
Craig depicts a character who is tough and gritty and while the plot of good versus evil is the same, there is no Miss Moneypenny.
If Bond has been a role-model for playboys across the generations, Craig's 007 is not only interested in seduction. He falls deeply in love with his Vesper Lynd.
The Treasury agent is played by Eva Green, an actress who starred in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers to critical praise.
Green, 26, said recently of her latest role: "I am not just a bimbo in a bikini."
http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_21_press_reviews.php3?t=bond21&s=bond21
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BoxCar_Willie
The World's Favorite Hobo
Saw this movie last night,
Damn good movie
What the last Batman movie and Christian Bale/Christopher Nolan did for Batman, Daniel Craig/Martin Campbell did for James Bond. They actually read the source material and had respect for the source material. Imagine that!!!
Damn good movie
What the last Batman movie and Christian Bale/Christopher Nolan did for Batman, Daniel Craig/Martin Campbell did for James Bond. They actually read the source material and had respect for the source material. Imagine that!!!
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
British woman legally changes her name to include 14 Bond girls
A woman in Britain has legally changed her name by deed poll to include the names of 14 different Bond girls.
The barmaid, formerly Emma-Louise Hodges, 28, is now "Miss Pussy Galore Honey Rider Solitaire Plenty O'Toole May Day Xenia Onatopp Holly Goodhead Tiffany Case Kissy Suzuki Mary Goodnight Jinx Johnson Octopussy Domino Moneypenny".
Entire article: http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=10559&t=mi6&s=news
A woman in Britain has legally changed her name by deed poll to include the names of 14 different Bond girls.
The barmaid, formerly Emma-Louise Hodges, 28, is now "Miss Pussy Galore Honey Rider Solitaire Plenty O'Toole May Day Xenia Onatopp Holly Goodhead Tiffany Case Kissy Suzuki Mary Goodnight Jinx Johnson Octopussy Domino Moneypenny".
Entire article: http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=10559&t=mi6&s=news
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