*** Official CASINO ROYALE Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Chris Atkins]

In the review thread, Justin took umbrage with my criticism of substituting poker for baccarat, so I will respond here.

Justin, poker may be "all the rage" now, but I still find it hard to believe that it would be the centerpiece of a high stakes game in a ritzy European casino. It would have taken less than 30 seconds to explain Baccarat especially since it is a cousin (game wise) of 21 which most in the American audience are familiar with.

In the end, though, this is just a nit.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The problem with using Texas Hold'em is that it was fairly obvious what the hold cards ended up being for the showdowns shown, and that made it anticlimatic. I'd rather some true bluffs were shown to heighten Bond's card play and "reading of people". Anyhow, the whole segment of card play at CR felt really boring and awkwardly pieced together to me and just slowed down the momentum of the film.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

The poker in the movie is laughable. More than any other element, it drags the movie, and the play and explanation is really sub-par. There are at least 5 different things that went wrong. I also thought baccarat would have brought more of an exotic feeling to the movie.

I forgot to mention David Arnold's score. Of his four scores, this is the one that uses the title song's theme the most. This is almost a John Barry approach. People always think the Bond theme dominates the scores of the Barry classics, but each score really has an individual voice. Arnold directly copied/paid homage to Barry at the end fo Die Another Day, but this is actually the closest to the Barry style he has got so far.

I cannot think of a high profile central character casting in recent years as a relaunch or sequel/prequel that did as good a job as Craig has done here. There's Brandon Routh, Hayden Christensen, Christian Bale and others. But Craig to me embodied the role more so than any of those.

 

[EricSJorg]

I believe from drawing on my currently vague knowledge from the Fleming novels, that the original male M was so named due to his real name as well. So given that Judi Dench's character is supposed to be the initial M upon Bond achieviing 00 status I can see no reason for it to disrupt anything. As well this movie was never intended to relate to the previous films in any way except for paying homage to them with things like the 1964 Aston Martin.

If anyone can back me up on this note, im off to check wikipedia to see how right I was off the top of my head.

Cheers.

 

[EricSJorg]

Aha, i found it. As according to wikipedia the naming process is effective in real life beginning with Mansfield Smith-Cumming who initialed using the letter C, and was nicknamed 'C' as a result of that. The naming is now continued in real life to any of his followers.

In Bond the the title is so given to the male character due to his name being Sir Miles Messervy. So now the goal of the future is to find out Judi Dench's M's real name. Could take a while though i gather while we wait between films.

Cheers.

 

[Blake Siefken]

After publicly stating that he wanted to direct a Bond film, I think its funny that the opening of CR looks so much like a Tarantino film. The grainy black and white looks just like the opening of Kill Bill, and that cant be an accident.

I liked that the film was so adult after the other ones were so juvinile. There were a lot of annoying little kids in the theater and they were all bored. Its nice to have a movie that an adult can enjoy for a change.

So is the next one going to be Bond vs. SPECTER? I know the book had that organization in it, but will the next movies have it too?

 

[Brett_M]

Loved every frame of this film. CR gets me excited for the future. That's the first time I can say that as a Bond fan from way back. Craig nails it -- plain and simple. I'm in love with Eva Green. Perfect origin story and a great re-launch for the franchise. I will see it again.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I think it's fairly likely that both Q and Moneypenny will be worked into the series later.

 

[Britton]

Casino Royale dealt to some extent with SMERSH. SPECTRE didn't show up until Thunderball.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

***1/2 (of ****).
It will take me some time to really drink it all in, but I thought this was a VERY good Bond film in keeping with the spirit of the best of 007 from the '60s. Daniel Craig was great as Bond and easily commanded the role, coming off as hard-edged and complex. Though the film runs 144 minutes it didn't feel long to me and there was a nice balance of action/suspense/surprise/talk. I think the filmmakers pushed all the right buttons in the way they've gone back to basics for this long-running series, and there is no way for this franchise to go but up for my money. One thing which took me aback a little was seeing Judi Dench appear again as M. I've always enjoyed her as Pierce Brosnan's superior but found it quite odd that she would return here when every effort was geing made to take the series on a completely fresh course.


I'm one of the few Bond fans who's often underwhelmed by OHMSS. For some reason I've never "bought" the intense relationship between Lazenby and Rigg in that one; I never sense what makes them so "close", and thus the ending never had that strong an effect on me. However, CASINO ROYALE actually had me feeling that Bond and Vesper were closer and I "felt" their relationship as having far more meaning than I did with OHMSS. I could see Craig marrying Vesper more than I ever believed Lazenby could wed Rigg.

 

[Jordan_E]

Other than the fact it appears MI6 is subsidized by Sony (can you have MORE product placement?!), I liked the movie. Not great. But I liked the fact that it didn't shout out: HERE COMES SPECTRE (or SMERSH)!

 

[Andy Sheets]

IIRC, there are legalities that prevent the Bond producers from using SPECTRE (or Blofeld) in movies anymore. Apparently Kevin McClory has knotted things up. And I doubt they'll bring in SMERSH because that was a specifically Soviet organization.

 

[Holadem]

Same here! The only thing I can think of is her uncanny resemblance to a younger Sophie Marceau. Very similar eyes.

I liked the movie, despite the odd structure.

I have no problems with Craig, except his age. It was often difficult to believe that he was a relative n00b - he looks and acts way too seasoned, especially at the casino. They should've picked a younger actor, or a different story. Still, a fun time.

--
H

 

[Chuck Mayer]

H,
To be fair, I doubt MI-6 recruits from the universities for major field agents. As a 00, he probably has some time with the office, and some significant time before that in the Royal Navy (or the SAS/SBS - as Vesper noted). He's well-trained, but not terribly experienced in matters of spycraft. You start as a badass...and it just gets moreso

 

[Paul_Scott]

the more I've thought about this movie over the week-end, the more I've liked it . I just remember the shot on the beams when the terrorist runs out of bullets and throws the gun at Bond. Daniel just kicked ass again and again throughout. I'm thrilled he ended up having the last laugh- I just hope they meet him with more material that he deserves.

In the future, I wouldn't even mind further deconstruction- maybe a male moneypenny or a "Q" that is nothing like the Desmonds interp. I see absolutely no reason they can't carve out their own niche finally. Like one review I read put it "you have to ask yourself, do you really want to see all the old cliches over again, or is the impulse merely pavlovian?"
As to Spectre, I just can't see that in this universe. A secret orginazation, yes. But one with a super-villan moniker (thats an acronym representing pure cheese no less)? I can see MI6 giving the shadowy orginzation an obtuse code name, but certainly not something so melodramatic. Thats the domain of Austin Powers now, and theres just no going back, i think.

this is the first 'event' movie since BB, that I can't wait to see again. Nice to finally get one that isn't a broad disappointment.

 

[Ray H]

As much as I wouldn't mind seeing some of the old Bond cliches thrown out, they need a female Moneypenny. A sexy one too.

 

[GerardoHP]

LOVED this film. It just blows me away that, 44 years after the start of the series, the Broccolis still managed to turn out a spectacular action movie that feels fresh, smart, witty and still references the whole series in a number of ways. Wow. Not easy.

Loved Craig. I was one of the first to complain about his looks and now I feel like I shoulda kept my mouth shut. Well, you learn. Turns out, he's really handsome, cuts an imposing presence on the screen and is a better actor than just about all the previous Bonds. PLUS, he must have had the weight of the world on his shoulders shooting this movie, what with all the expectations and the complaints about his hair color and such. He does not look like the third Slavic soldier to the left -- he's a memorable Bond.

Loved Vesper Lynd. God, what can one say about her. They gave Vesper so many good zingers in this movie, and Eva Green is totally on target playing her as smart and fragile as she does. Without any question, one of the best Bond girls ever.

Loved Dench. She shines in everything she does, but this is the best she's done in a Bond movie since GOLDENEYE. Thank God they didn't have her standing around in a control room again. Can't wait to see her back.

Loved the story.
Loved the retro-looking opening title sequence.
Even loved the Chris Cornell song.
And the stunts.
And that they withheld the Bond theme until the end.

My only gripe, and it's a very small one, I wish they had used anamorphic lenses to shoot this movie. I'm not militantly anti-Super 35 but some of CR is a bit too grainy for my taste and the anamorphic lenses would have given it that razor-sharp look that most other Bond films have.

Other than that, a 9.75 out of 10.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Loved the music.
Loved the opening title sequence.
Loved the verbal sparring on the train between Vesper and Bond.
Loved the retro feel of some of the scenes at the Casino Royale (especially the cars and exteriors) - had a '60s "feel" to it, even though the cars weren't old.
Loved the scene in the shower where Bond's cold heart melts as he comforts Vesper.
Bond in the torture scene is one badass, smart-mouthed good guy, which I also loved.

The backstory of Bond works extremely well, even if it blends the origin of the Bond character with all of today's techno-conveniences (internet, cellphones, bugs and earpieces, portable and compact heart defibrillators, etc.).

 

[Paul_Scott]

I noticed this too. I was wondering if this film would be enough for me to consider picking up a Bd player in the spring, but I would have concerns how well Sony (and Mpeg2) will handle all the natural grain here. If they haven't gotten their act together by then, the eventual disc could be a real mess.

 

[Holadem]

Sure. I would have been fine with Craig looking at least his real age (38), but in my eyes, he looked at times a good 10 years older - specifically during the Limo ride to the Casino. And call me jaded, but even 38 is a bit late for a "trust no one" lesson, I think, especially for someone in his business.

None of this is a big deal though, just thinking out loud.

--
H