Casino Royale


Rating = B

As everyone else has noted, this Bond film make a pretty significant break with the tradition of the prior Bond films: there is much less big scale high tech equipment (there are still little high tech devices), Bond does most of his chasing of the bad guys on foot rather than in vehicles, he comes to actually care about “the girl” rather than only bedding her, it's confusing who the villain is (villains are) and what their motives are rather than there being a single larger-than-life megalomaniac bent on world domination, Bond himself is undisciplined rather than eternally “cool,” he tends to win the battles in which is is outnumbered by shotting something the blows up (fire extinguisher, steam pipe, giant air bags) and distract everyone, the opening credits are novel for a Bond film, and the traditional theme music is used minimally. The film is more like a traditional thriller or spy story than a typical Bond film. It is too long, and it is still far fetched. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing the new James Bond (Daniel Craig) again and am hopeful the writers can also find a way to reinvolve this actress as “the girl.”

[2006-11-21]