A Gourmet Bond - A Casino Royale Opinion
TOOTS
Posts: 114MI6 Agent
A GOURMET BOND
An initial opinion of CASINO ROYALE by TOOTS
Writing about Casino Royale right now is like dancing about architecture. But here goes...
Casino Royale is an instant classic with a clean, clear linear plot that moves confidently ahead, capturing the spirit and essence and, in surprising places, the details of the 1953 book. The credit "based on a novel by Ian Fleming" in the title sequence is miraculously both present and true in a Bond film made in 2006.
Daniel Craig is immediately James Bond as we have all known him and as we have never known him before. This is Fleming's Bond brought to life but the jewel of this performance is set magnificently in an exquisite script and framed in Martin Campbell's bold and satisfying direction. This is good film -making first and an extraordinary Bond film second. Craig is intense, naturalistic and fierce but also tender, vulnerable and haunted. A man emboldened and burdened by his licence to kill.
Eva Green is stunning as Vesper Lynd. Edgy, elegant, intelligent yet guarded and mysterious. Her romance with Bond is the core of the movie which takes us back to the tarnished knight of novels.
Mad Mikkelson is sinister, original and malevolent as Le Chiffre, a silouhetted cypher. He is interestingly and dynamically rendered in a performance that shades Fleming's creation with added complexity.
Caterina Murino's Fleming-named Solange is sexy and sultry and could have been a character from Quantum of Solace or The Hilderbrand Rarity. She really does hold the eye and her scenes with Bond sizzle. She is also integral to the function and spirit of the story and is played with arch aplomb by the Sardinian beauty.
Judi Dench's M is teasingly developed both in her relationship with Bond and her placement in the British Government. Continuity aside, her inclusion is exactly right for this story and her admonishing of Bond crackles with good writing and topical knowingness. M contextualizes 007's character and sets up the story and the stakes in an expositionally creative way. Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter is a subtle but pivotal presence while Giancarlo Giannini's Rene Mathis is a more prominent, ebullient performance. Richard Branson's "blink-and-you'll-miss=it" cameo is fun and Michael G Wilson appearance is notable for the character bling he sports.
The theme song and titles are similarly different from the past and a development. Saul Bass-esque graphic artistry combines with Binder-esque motion poetry in Daniel Kleinman's CG animated titles. Playing card and gambling imagery also incorporates a live action Daniel Craig. The instrumental version of the song provides a driving, energetic action theme. Denied of the full James Bond theme until the end (although we are given delicious truffle-shavings of it), You Know My Name binds the film like John Barry's alternate "007" theme. David Arnold's score both simmers and soars and is an achievement of reinvention. Both the song and the score encapsulate the performance of Daniel Craig: an updated classic. Rather like the silver beast that is brand new purring Aston Martin DBS.
Martin Campbell's style is different from GoldenEye in all but the pure energy and exuberance of his direction. Visually intriguing (a cobra-mongoose fight, a trail through the bizarre Bodyworld exhibit) and atmospherically sinister, the film touches on elements of classic but recently unused filmBond. The travelogue is non-specific but visually stunning especially the recreation of Montenegro. Phil Meheux's sweeping photography is glorious and colourful and rich and romantic. Oscar-winning Bond veterans, production designer Peter Lamont and costume designer Lindy Hemming break the film into 2 halves starting with a tough, gritty, New World Order edge and then taking Bond to the heart of Europe and dressing the film in classic, realistic European sophistication. Structurally different from any previous Bond film, the 21st Eon film flies through the series' longest ever running time. Stuart Baird's editing is uncompromising in the action sequences yet paces the film carefully through the poker duel and romantic subplot. Time is given to characters to talk, to love and to live. Gary Powell has made the combat very brutal and realistic and original. The visceral action setpieces are extremely exciting and, above all, original: the Madgascan freerunning sequence is breathtaking.
The toying with the Bond film formula is playful yet respectful from the placement of the gunbarrel, the name-reveal, the use of the James Bond theme, outrageous femme fatale names ("Stephanie Broadchest"!), the use of gadgetry and the symbolic invocation of the vodka martini (the Medal), Aston Martin (the chariot), MI6 hierarchy (the Order) and M (the Monarch). The reboot really is tangential to the story.
Casino Royale is like the fourth James Bond film, after Dr No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Before the lava of creativity cooled to the crust of formula, Bond films sat as individual pieces, extracting and refining the ore of Fleming. Daniel Craig is laced with a soupçon of Dalton (richer though with the stronger charm and wit of a superior script). However, Daniel Craig is very much his own, believable, instantly winning incarnation of James Bond 007.
The larder of the last 20 films will confuse and confound the ardent Bond fan upon first viewing. This is not Surf 'n Turf at your local franchise chain restaurant. This film will not be to everyone's taste and does not lean into expectations. Casino Royale needs to percolate, mature, air in the mind, explored by the senses. Only then will the full flavour of the gourmet Bond film we have been served begin to be savoured by all of us who have hungered for James Bond to return.
An initial opinion of CASINO ROYALE by TOOTS
Writing about Casino Royale right now is like dancing about architecture. But here goes...
Casino Royale is an instant classic with a clean, clear linear plot that moves confidently ahead, capturing the spirit and essence and, in surprising places, the details of the 1953 book. The credit "based on a novel by Ian Fleming" in the title sequence is miraculously both present and true in a Bond film made in 2006.
Daniel Craig is immediately James Bond as we have all known him and as we have never known him before. This is Fleming's Bond brought to life but the jewel of this performance is set magnificently in an exquisite script and framed in Martin Campbell's bold and satisfying direction. This is good film -making first and an extraordinary Bond film second. Craig is intense, naturalistic and fierce but also tender, vulnerable and haunted. A man emboldened and burdened by his licence to kill.
Eva Green is stunning as Vesper Lynd. Edgy, elegant, intelligent yet guarded and mysterious. Her romance with Bond is the core of the movie which takes us back to the tarnished knight of novels.
Mad Mikkelson is sinister, original and malevolent as Le Chiffre, a silouhetted cypher. He is interestingly and dynamically rendered in a performance that shades Fleming's creation with added complexity.
Caterina Murino's Fleming-named Solange is sexy and sultry and could have been a character from Quantum of Solace or The Hilderbrand Rarity. She really does hold the eye and her scenes with Bond sizzle. She is also integral to the function and spirit of the story and is played with arch aplomb by the Sardinian beauty.
Judi Dench's M is teasingly developed both in her relationship with Bond and her placement in the British Government. Continuity aside, her inclusion is exactly right for this story and her admonishing of Bond crackles with good writing and topical knowingness. M contextualizes 007's character and sets up the story and the stakes in an expositionally creative way. Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter is a subtle but pivotal presence while Giancarlo Giannini's Rene Mathis is a more prominent, ebullient performance. Richard Branson's "blink-and-you'll-miss=it" cameo is fun and Michael G Wilson appearance is notable for the character bling he sports.
The theme song and titles are similarly different from the past and a development. Saul Bass-esque graphic artistry combines with Binder-esque motion poetry in Daniel Kleinman's CG animated titles. Playing card and gambling imagery also incorporates a live action Daniel Craig. The instrumental version of the song provides a driving, energetic action theme. Denied of the full James Bond theme until the end (although we are given delicious truffle-shavings of it), You Know My Name binds the film like John Barry's alternate "007" theme. David Arnold's score both simmers and soars and is an achievement of reinvention. Both the song and the score encapsulate the performance of Daniel Craig: an updated classic. Rather like the silver beast that is brand new purring Aston Martin DBS.
Martin Campbell's style is different from GoldenEye in all but the pure energy and exuberance of his direction. Visually intriguing (a cobra-mongoose fight, a trail through the bizarre Bodyworld exhibit) and atmospherically sinister, the film touches on elements of classic but recently unused filmBond. The travelogue is non-specific but visually stunning especially the recreation of Montenegro. Phil Meheux's sweeping photography is glorious and colourful and rich and romantic. Oscar-winning Bond veterans, production designer Peter Lamont and costume designer Lindy Hemming break the film into 2 halves starting with a tough, gritty, New World Order edge and then taking Bond to the heart of Europe and dressing the film in classic, realistic European sophistication. Structurally different from any previous Bond film, the 21st Eon film flies through the series' longest ever running time. Stuart Baird's editing is uncompromising in the action sequences yet paces the film carefully through the poker duel and romantic subplot. Time is given to characters to talk, to love and to live. Gary Powell has made the combat very brutal and realistic and original. The visceral action setpieces are extremely exciting and, above all, original: the Madgascan freerunning sequence is breathtaking.
The toying with the Bond film formula is playful yet respectful from the placement of the gunbarrel, the name-reveal, the use of the James Bond theme, outrageous femme fatale names ("Stephanie Broadchest"!), the use of gadgetry and the symbolic invocation of the vodka martini (the Medal), Aston Martin (the chariot), MI6 hierarchy (the Order) and M (the Monarch). The reboot really is tangential to the story.
Casino Royale is like the fourth James Bond film, after Dr No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Before the lava of creativity cooled to the crust of formula, Bond films sat as individual pieces, extracting and refining the ore of Fleming. Daniel Craig is laced with a soupçon of Dalton (richer though with the stronger charm and wit of a superior script). However, Daniel Craig is very much his own, believable, instantly winning incarnation of James Bond 007.
The larder of the last 20 films will confuse and confound the ardent Bond fan upon first viewing. This is not Surf 'n Turf at your local franchise chain restaurant. This film will not be to everyone's taste and does not lean into expectations. Casino Royale needs to percolate, mature, air in the mind, explored by the senses. Only then will the full flavour of the gourmet Bond film we have been served begin to be savoured by all of us who have hungered for James Bond to return.
Comments
Very good review, and though it doesn't give anything away (a good thing), it is much more informative than other ones I've been reading.
Thanks. That was the idea...
If this is really true, they achieved the impossible. What a cool thing to say: we are in 1964 and willing to explore the cinematic possibilities of this character, James Bond.
I can only echo this. Thanks TOOTS.