Casino Royale Spoiler Free Reviews
SiCo
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Please post your initial spoiler free quick reviews of the film here.
What did you think of the film?
What about Daniel Craig?
The other cast?
Your rating from 000 to 007 (being excellent).
Please don't give any part of the film away. If you wish to read full reviews which may contain spoilers please view the [topic=27098]Casino Royale Reviews[/topic] topic.
What did you think of the film?
What about Daniel Craig?
The other cast?
Your rating from 000 to 007 (being excellent).
Please don't give any part of the film away. If you wish to read full reviews which may contain spoilers please view the [topic=27098]Casino Royale Reviews[/topic] topic.
Simon
Comments
Overall, I liked the film. It was gritty and even (gasp) realistic, full of hardcore action, both cold-blooded and well choreographed. The plot may have been too realistic, so that it lacks the epic grandeur of other Bond films, but I guess maybe this being a beginnning Bond, he should start small.
Plus or minus, because of the way the film is written, it doesn't have the kind of climactic scenes that say "cheer for Bond here", as most other Bond films (and Superman, X-men, Spiderman, etc.) do.
2. What about Daniel Craig?
Shaken and stirred. Excellent character actor. Like Dalton in ruthlessness, like Connery in ruggedness, trumps them all in edgy fight scenes. Exudes a cocky confidence that a not yet mature Bond would probably have. Rough around the edges, not suave. Has a bit of a rough witt, not an elegant one like Moore or Brosnan.
He does not have the screen prescense of Connery, Moore, or Brosnan. But Bond made Connery, and Moore and Brosnan were "made" celebrities who commanded attention even before their roles as Bond. Craig is a relative unknown to most stepping into a character owned by many. Given time, he may become "his own" Bond, and make everyone else look like extras, the way the aforementioned 3 did.
3. The other cast?
Honestly, no one really stood out. Eva Green is beautiful, but I had no connection to her; I couldn't almost love her, the way some of the other Bond women made me want to be Bond to be with them. Detached.
The main antagonist may be ruthless, but he did not instill fear the way other Bond villains do.
I guess that's one of the weaknesses when a story tries to become too realistic; it losses some flair, and so does it's characters. The rest of the cast were pretty much extras.
4. Your rating from 000 to 007 (being excellent).
005. Very solid first outing, very good reboot to revitalize the franchise, very good actor in Craig, very good action. Lacks the grand plot, the oozing sex, and a bit of the humour.
Craig is superb. He delivers his lines fabulously and is very good with with the jokes, some of which were the best I have heard in a Bond film. Some real LOL moments. He is incredibly sexy and I would have no problem thinking women would fall for him at all. I did, hook line and sinker. It was the naughty glint in his eye that did it.His action scenes were amazing and he certainly has an air of ruthlessness about him.
He has certainly added a new dimension to Bond.
The film is very faithful to the book and all the better for it,IMO. The one criticism I had repeatedly read was the Casino scene was too long. I didn't find this at all.
Even the stuff I really didn't think I would like seemed to work. The theme song seemed much better with the film then when I listened to it on my PC and Judi Dench produces her best performance as M to date.
As for the rest of the cast. I enjoyed Mads as Le Chiffre, Eva Green was good as Vesper and Jeffrey Wright was a very passable Felix.
There were a few gripes, there always are. All the action seems to be in the first half of the film which may put some off, the product placement reaches new proportions ( and also produces one of the worst lines I have ever heard in any film ) and I'm not sure I liked the title sequences.
I will not go into too much detail because I will give away too many spoilers so I will wait until many of you have seen it but overall I thought this was an excellent return to form and should help ensure another 44 years for the franchise.
As far as I am concerned ... Bond is dead,Long Live Bond {[]
What did you think of the film?
It was a fantastic film. Its a proper, gripping, action thriller that really does look so glamourous and exotic that at times it hurts. The fight sequences however, are so brutal at points that at times they hurt too - I winced and turned away at several points. (For the record, I don't think it should be a 12A). The casino scene I did feel dragged a little, as did the Bond/Vesper bonding toward the end of the film. Minor, though, in comparison to a very strong film throughout.
Though it has all the elements of a James Bond film, it's quite different to what's gone before. This is quite the reboot.
Theme tune? Oh dear god. Think I'll be pressing mute on the DVD during the titles sequence. One word - foul.
There's a brilliant drinking game to be had watching Casino Royale though - having to down different shots whenever another logo appears on screen. Product placement, particularly from Sony, is heavy.
It's also a victim of "too many preview clips". All the main action pieces have been trotted out in documentaries and news programmes that when they happen, they don't leave you as breathless as they should do.
What about Daniel Craig?
A great actor, and his performance is nothing short of fantastic. He's not playing the Bond we know, he's playing a new one. A Bond with depth and emotion, a Bond that's a ruthless killing machine at times, a Bond that at points you actually think "What a b*****d!". Best Bond since Connery? I don't think he's the best Bond since anyone. I think he might just have redefined the roll from now, that you could end up talking "old Bond" and "new Bond". The line is drawn here.
The other cast?
Mads Mikkelsen I think is a particular highlight. He's a creepy little nerd who holds the lunch money that the bullies steal off the other nerds in the playground. Mikkelsen and Craig bounce off each other extraordinarly well, and you can really believe that Bond wants to beat him so badly that he's prepared to resort to anything.
Eva Green's Vesper is an intelligent, witty, yet enimagitic character. I described her in my other review as being a bit weird. Not your average Bond girl, and she trades some terrific dialogue with Bond.
Solange, however, is more the "classic" Bond girl. She's stunning, she's tragic, she eludes such warmth that you do care what happens to character.
Your rating from 000 to 007 (being excellent).
Old Bond is dead. New Bond is here. I can't rate him in comparison to the other 5, he's in a league of his own.
Absolutely rip roaring adventure.
What about Daniel Craig?
He's blond, has blue eyes, so what he IS BOND. What a perfomance. I like many, had doubts this time last year when a skinny geek with lank blond hair was paraded in a life Jacket across the Thames.
But the guy in this film is 1000 miles away from that image. What a physical performance.
You really could beleive that the next film would be Connery's Dr No.
Definitely another 2 solid perfomances to come.
The other cast?
Spot on , Mads nice and Slimey, Eva Green good, Dench on top form, Caterina what a stunner.
Your rating from 000 to 007 (being excellent).
This is 007 rated, but within a new timeline, not comparing to others. As a standalone film it works, as a prequel it works
P.S never have t!e hairs stood on the back of my neck, and have i had sooo many goosebumps, than in the last 5 minutes of the film!!!
007....perfection! Bond is back!
I just got back from a midnight showing of the film here near Washington, D.C. I'll start off by saying that I enjoyed the film, but at the same time, I don't have that feeling that I just came back from watching a Bond film. I knew already that this was going to be an "un-traditional" Bond film, but still felt uncertain about some things.
I felt that Craig did a pretty good job. The fight scenes were pretty good with grittiness. Its about time we have a Bond who is in shape. It took me awhile to get use to his dry humor. Others in the theater laughed, while I was too busy trying to analyze Craig's demeanor to see if he's Bond material. His acting was suspect at times, but he'll get better and better with each movie. I will say that he doesn't have that big presense on screen as the other Bonds.
Jeffrey Wright was good as Felix Leiter. The audience laughed at his emotions and lines when he was losing against Le Chiffre. I liked it when he said, "the brother from Langley." when he stopped James Bond from going after Le Chiffre with a knife. I think the other actors/actresses were ok, but they lacked any depth. To me, Le Chiffre was a punk. I'm not use to Bond villians acting all scared and what not.
I know its a reboot and what not, but that new gun sequence leaves a bad taste in my mouth. First of all, its happens so damn fast that you can't really analyze the design of it. Second, the way it was set up. Bond drowns the guy in a bathroom sink and then the guy gets up and trys to shoot Bond only for Bond to bust a cap in him. And finally, the blood drips down the screen looked like Kool-Aid. I just didn't feel this sequence at all. I pray this was only a one time deal.
The movie could have used more plot development. It seemed like they rushed through a few things. I haven't read the book in 16 years so now I'm skimming back to refresh my memory on it. I do remember that SMERSH was the organization behind Le Chiffre, but they don't mention them by name in the movie.
I give is a 005.5 rating. I thought the torture scene should have been more evil. Craig started acting like a clown towards the end of it. In the chapter 'My Dear Boy' I don't remember Bond making fun of Le Chiffre while getting his nuts beat in. I'll probably go see it one more time and then wait until I get it on DVD or something. Now I'm looking forward to May 2nd, 2008 for the next film.
thrilling detective work from Bond; who is an actual real character who the audience notice making mistakes, and at one point actually fear that his ego and reckless nature has wrecked the mission once again.
Craig is excellent as Bond. It's not really a Bond to be compared with previous Bonds as it's very different: many critics have remarked that we see Bond cry in this film- for me the big change is that we actually see Bond happy; properly happy and contented. Even when he got married he didn't seem this real.
To start with I was worried he wasn't Bond at all (although the Madascar chase certainly shows him to be a proper double hard b*****d!), but as soon as he arrives in the Bahamas, and especially when we see his method of entry into the Ocean Club (which, if this were a playstation Bond game, would earn you a 'Bond Moment'!), you're assured that this is still James Bond.
Watching this Bond it's easy to see why Dalton's Bond wasn't quite there- he didn't have the arrogance and ego that Bond needs.
Does Craig have the charisma of previous Bonds? Well he's not far off, but importantly he doesn't get the opportunity to wink at the audience as other Bonds did, which gives a lead an instant charisma boost and link to the audience. We doubt this Bond; we're not sure he can do the things he's trying to do and aren't even sure of what he's trying to do; and that makes it much, much more interesting and exciting.
This is a James Bond who lets fly the traditional quips and then, when they don't hit their target (although the audience laughs), says 'well I thought it was a good line'. He's real.
Bourne has had an influence, but they've made Bond a much more interesting character than Bourne- there's so much more to him. A definite win on the most important element.
Bad points: It is far, far too long and tapers to an end on a bit of whimper after a succession of climaxes and quiet moments: the whole sinking house scene just felt stuck on and wasn't needed at all. I think even the dinner-suited fan audience I was seeing it with were flagging by this point. I'm not completely sold on the title sequence and the song sounded dreadful in the Odeon Leicester Square (which had particularly echoey sound).
I'm not sure the romance works entirely (there's an OHMSS-style sudden leap where Bond turns from not being all that interested to being in love). Eva is gorgeous, although occasionally hard to understand. Judi gives her best M in this film and the relationship between her and Bond is very interesting, although at points it feels that M and Bond are the only important personnel in MI6, such is the close nature of their relationship. The poker game gets a little episodic with the attempts to break it up a bit and the film begins to suffer from being in the same place for so long. And the final 'punch-the-air' scene just didn't work for me at all.
Overall, cracking stuff, can't wait to see it again but may have to pack a pillow. Just too long.
Well, they wouldn't. SMERSH was an agency of the USSR Government of the Cold War; it doesn't exist anymore.
The full identity of the organisation will, I think, be answered in the next film. There have been plenty of hints regarding that, not least Campbell saying on Film 2006 'this film is part one'.
And what about Lord Rose....
Roger Moore 1927-2017
1. I agree: the speed with which they proceeded to the love story is not good. It is way too fast. They should have developed it more before they had Bond say "whatever is left of me, I'm yours." After this scene, though, I think it's fine.
The interplay between Bond and Vesper before this, though, is terrific.
2. The interaction between M and Bond is fantastic. In my mind, Craig and Dench were the highlights of the film, in addition to the torture scene.
3. I will agree on Eva. She is beautiful, but she really mangles some of her lines. She should have just played it with her French accent.
4. I loved the poker game. No real problems with it.
5. I disagree on the length. Honestly, I looked at my watch at the end to see how much time had gone by, and to me, it seemed more than anything like it was too short. I could easily have used another half-hour if, for no other reason, to develop the love story more.
I'm in two minds it seemed to whizz past the Miami sequence; really nicely pacey. But after the torture it felt like it was winding down; that we'd had the peak.
WOW! That was my operative thought from start to finish. "Reboot" doesn't begin to describe how different this film feels to what came before it.
THE GOOD:
-- Daniel Craig is phenomenal. I was expecting all hard edges, and he certainly has some, but he can really deliver a witticism as well. Not for a second did I care that he was blond and blue-eyed.
-- Very clever use of the gunbarrel IMO.
-- Mads Mikkelsen is absolutely perfect. He is literally a greasy weasel, always in a sweat. His Le Chiffre is completely amoral.
-- Some stellar action sequences. The stunts in the Madagascar chase instantly place it in the top five Bond chase scenes of all time. Many of the fights are brutal -- I shielded my eyes more than once, especially when Le Chiffre and his girlfriend were in peril.
-- The torture scene contains what may be the most perfectly in-your-face one-liner the series has ever seen. The whole scene is visceral and brilliant.
-- Good supporting acting from Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini and Eva Green.
-- An enlarged M role, which always irritated me in the Brosnan films, is welcome here, and Dame Judy shines.
-- The writing, the writing, the writing.
-- Some gorgeous sweeping photography -- the best since OHMSS.
-- The final line -- smashing!
THE LESS GOOD
-- Crappy title sequence, not up to Kleinman's or Binder's standards.
-- Eva Green is a little off. I don't find her very attractive, but more to the point, her accent doesn't work and, as M5 so rightly points out, the character comes off as weird.
-- The film is 20-25 minutes too long. I admire the attempts to break up what would have been a soporific poker game had it been continual, but they weren't all necessary. Worse, the film seemed to end and restart 3-4 times after the climactic showdown.
-- Speaking of which, that showdown ends too quickly.
-- Don't like how Bond goes from an overeager new double-0 to a jaded guy so quickly.
-- The first Bond-M meeting is in an implausible location, the point of which I don't really get.
-- Michael Wilson's cameo. Enough already, Mickey -- you ain't Hitchcock.
Some other comments, in response to other topics:
-- It's been 15+ years since I read the novel, but I certainly will go back now.
-- I actually didn't notice the product placements, except for the egregious line on the train, which was pretty tacky.
-- The title song didn't bother me, but it's also not very memorable.
-- I went out of my way to avoid learning much about the film (rarely visited the CR forum on AJB, for example). However, like everyone else, I have experienced the recent marketing blitz, especially on TV. Even with that, though, I was so engrossed in the film that the familiar bits caught me by surprise -- only seconds before it happened did I realize I was about to see the barrel roll.
-- The potential sequel angles are many, which is wonderful.
For me, this film is the best thing to happen to the franchise since The Spy Who Loved Me.
How so? Her flat?
The one problem? The title sequence. It looked cool, but it lacked any punch- perhaps because of the song, which I like on its own, but it seemed too boring for Bond.
Eva is gorgeous, Catarina is gorgeous, Valenka is meh. Which is a word.
Again, Craig is fantastic. He is so cool- Connery with an edge, if you can imagine that. Wow.
I was blown away.
way more of a radical revisioning than Id seriously expected
it seems to be the start of an entirely different series, much moreso than OHMSS or the Dalton films
I just hope those Brocolli kids keep their nerve and deliver three in a row like this
in the small town where I saw it, there were a lot of bored kiddies in the theatre, I think many of the audience were a bit confused about what they were seeing
I gotta say Craig seemed to be playing a different character entirely, sometimes it seemd like the secret origin of Jack 24 Bauer with better scenery
and Im not persuaded he was doing Flemings Bond either, cuz Flemings Bond had style and taste from day 1
but he was damned good, very actorly, and physically huge
and I like his grim humour better than any Bond actor I can think of, even Connery
best oneliner for me was "you dont know what I can do with one little pinky"
that freerunning sequence was the best chase sequence I can remember, cuz much of it was real
and the BodyWorlds scene was good too, very black humour, I saw that exhibit when it was in Toronto last year but they didnt have the BodyWorlds poker table then: imagine commisioning a thing like that especially for a movie!??!
I thought Vesper was a very fine lady, the romantic buildup wasnt rushed at all: that was what the shower scene was about, she was warming to him from their first scene in spite of his consistently offensive behaviour
M actually sounded more like Flemings M than any M in the films yet
and I liked all that blood, the scene where he has to change his shirt is another one of the very sick jokes of the film
what did I not like?
-the song
the credits were fine, trippy as ever, but that Soundgarden stuff is the most inappropriate Bondmusic yet
-the poker
just cuz I dont know the rules, I have no idea how Bond won that final hand
in the book Fleming explained everything we need to know about Baccarat, it was dead simple, but I shouldnt have to know the rules of some current online gambling trend to understand the movies plot
-the structure, an inevitable flaw but the second half did drag
but maybe thats an additional sign theyre serious about this being a trilogy, in which case it might all flow if viewed in a single sitting
anyway, I cant see this as being the origin of the guy we met in Dr No, this is an entirely new take on the character
this is the third time the storys been filmed and it still doesnt seem to be part of the official series
but at least the invisible car and busty teen nucl-e-ar physicist are gone for good
I think the film, after a couple of more viewings this weekend to make sure,
Daniel Craig is my second favourite Bond, right after the Scotsman...perhaps he is the second coming, after all B-)
Eva Green is enchanting, Caterina Murino is just about as hot as any woman I've seen on film, Dench turns in her best-ever performance as M, Giannini is an excellent Mathis, Mikkelson's Le Chiffre (while wildly different than what I'd envisioned) is quite good. I hope to see more of Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter in the next one, as he was sorely underused this time round.
My rating: 006.75 :007)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Daniel Craig is, for me, the closest yet to the Bond I visualise when reading Fleming: yes he's hard as nails, rough and tough when he needs to be, but shows vulnerability which creates empathy in the viewer, and he can be pretty suave in the DJ too, without looking like some model in a clothing catalogue (as some previous Bonds did).
I had no problem with the theme song, although I'm more of a John Barry/Shirley Bassey man myself, and the main titles I found novel, stylish and quite entertaining. David Arnold's music gets better with each outing, and I felt the editing showed a return to the quick-fire style introduced by Peter Hunt in the 60's.
Supporting cast were perfectly alright, but no oscars there I feel. The action is stupendous, as we have come to expect, without the CGI that mars too many other films. I loved the final moments, they really make you excited about the next 2!!!
It's just a class act all round, and goes staight to number 2 in my all-time list (I could't put it above GF!!)
As for Daniel Craig, there are not enough superblatives to describe his performance. I always knew the man could act, but I think he just blew away his predecessors. Watching him on screen, I knew I was watching Felmings Bond. Ian Fleming must be up there watching down a very happy man indeed.
The rest of the cast did a great job also. Eva Green was sultry and a credit to all Bond girls. Jeffrey Wright, though sorely under used did a magnificant job. Giancarlo was a revalation as Mathis, would be great to see him back in the future films in any way. Dame Judi as always was pleasure to watch, I thought the scenes she had with Daniel Craig had real chemistry. As for Mads Mikkleson, I thought he played a good part, but could have been far more threatening. As for the bit part players, they all did their jobs very admirably indeed.
I dont think this will change the minds of the people over at craigisnotbond, but to be honest I dont give a damn. Daniel Craid IS Bond and he is here to stay.
A 007 rating from me, but probally a 005 rating for non Bond fans.
He didn't mind, but he did think my drooling was a bit much
MUNCH! MUNCH! MUNCH!
That's the sound of me eating a large slice of humble pie. I was indifferent at best to Babs & Mickey's decision to dispense with Pierce Brosnan replace him with Daniel Craig and re-boot the franchise. However, as far as I am now concerned, Babs & Mickey can change the formula, screw the timeline and re-boot the franchise as much as they wan't from now on if they continue to produce films of the high quality that is Casino Royale.
What did I think of Daniel Craig?
In terms of acting Bond he has it all, perhaps with the exception of suaveness. The screen presence, the grit, the toughness, the charm and the humour are all there in abundance. In terms of the way he looks Craig remains something of an enigma to me. In certain scenes he looks seriously cool, but in others he looks uncool and considerably older than his 38 years.
The other cast?
I liked all of them, especially Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. I actually felt a little sorry for him when he met his demise. My only criticisms here would be the underuse of Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter and Caterina Murino as Solange. It was hardly worth them being in the film.
My rating?
There were some negatives, which included: The product placement. David Arnold's music in the action sequences sounded like a racket. Machine guns, am I the only one who's getting bored with them? Wouldn't it be nice if there were less of them? The producers must think it's great seeing all those sparks fly as the bullets miss Bond for the zillionth time. The open ended ending, I prefer films to have a more conclusive ending than CR's. Overall though, these negatives are mere trifle's.
006 out of 007.
Lyle, like everyone else you are entitled to your point of view. I can understand you didnt see the Bond you are use to. However, most people would agree the Bond from the books has finally arrived on the big screen and I think that is why you didnt see the Bond you are use to.
Ant.
Ant, I won't argue with you, but I know what I know. Please no more arguments. I do not want to start a controversy. But if you'd like to insist that you're right, then believe what you will.
CR is now on metacritic.com. Metacritic somehow compiles an average of the most influential and respected reviews. The best possible result is 100. Goldeneye was Pierce's best, with 65 points.
The rest of his bonds are in the fifties, with DAD having the lovest score. No surprises there.
But CR gets 80 points! This is very good. I will search for some examples to show this.
The Jason Bourne suprimacy 73
Alien:DC 83
Amelie 69
Batman Begins 70
Gladiator 64
Magnolia 77
Heat 76
So 80 points is not bad at all!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The Bourne identity 68 points