Pros and Cons: Casino Royale (2006)
Absolutely_Cart
NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
21st film in the Bond series, debuting Daniel Craig as 007. Craig was initially greeted with much skepticism, but the movie and his performance were both widely acclaimed. By many, it is considered the most acclaimed entry in the series since Goldfinger. In a turn from the predecessor, comical CGI-laden Die Another Day, Casino Royale is more grounded in Fleming's writing.
Pros:
The gritty black-and-white followed by an colorful anthemic song/video
Daniel Craig a sexy lust-bomb with a whole new take on the character
Embodies the anger, harrowing sadness and paranoia/mistrust of the post 9/11 era
Adapts Fleming's work to the 21st century (terrorists are more scary than brothel moguls)
Eva Green as Vesper, a female lead that embraces a strong femininity
Dench's M keeps up the good work with a revised approach toward Craig's Bond
Mads makes a really good, and believeable Le Chiffre (that torture scene...)
In many ways, was a paradigm shift for other action movies in the 2000's
No gadgets, Moneypenny, Q, etc. Expanding creatively on the formula
The ending gives Connery's famous introduction a run for its money
Cons:
Action-heavy first hour could've been tightened just a little bit.
How Bond gets his 00-status could've been explained a little bit more
Practically no real flaws here - my cons are marginal nitpicks. It's an overall perfect movie, as perfect as any film can get. Probably my favorite film in the series.
Pros:
The gritty black-and-white followed by an colorful anthemic song/video
Daniel Craig a sexy lust-bomb with a whole new take on the character
Embodies the anger, harrowing sadness and paranoia/mistrust of the post 9/11 era
Adapts Fleming's work to the 21st century (terrorists are more scary than brothel moguls)
Eva Green as Vesper, a female lead that embraces a strong femininity
Dench's M keeps up the good work with a revised approach toward Craig's Bond
Mads makes a really good, and believeable Le Chiffre (that torture scene...)
In many ways, was a paradigm shift for other action movies in the 2000's
No gadgets, Moneypenny, Q, etc. Expanding creatively on the formula
The ending gives Connery's famous introduction a run for its money
Cons:
Action-heavy first hour could've been tightened just a little bit.
How Bond gets his 00-status could've been explained a little bit more
Practically no real flaws here - my cons are marginal nitpicks. It's an overall perfect movie, as perfect as any film can get. Probably my favorite film in the series.
Comments
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
You say that on all of my pros and cons threads lmao - you're such a troll.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Which film was the 2nd, Cart?
Octopussy, of course.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Amazing PTS
Absorbing Soundtrack
Beautiful Locations
Le Chiffre is a cold, mysterious Villain
Eva Green
Some well Shot Fights
The Ending -{
Cons-
I actually can't think of any.
So as with AOS, no cons for me either. -{
The Miami scenes look cheap! (Bodyworld, the airport, the airfield chase)
Some dialogues are cringeworthy! (Took my armour off - little finger - Omega (Moore would have gotten crucified for those!))
The car chase should have been longer!
On the other hand YKMN is phantasic, best title song in my opinion!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
The first two here really bring the film down for me. The car chase was very disappointing since it really wasn't a car chase. Bond gets in the car and then it rolls over many time. It could have had more build up and the rolls at the end would have been even better. The Miami airport chase was just boring and didn't take the movie anywhere like a car chase later in the film could have.
The dialogue certainly is cringe-worthy. At least in Moore's films the dialogue isn't supposed to be taken seriously, so it doesn't detract from the films overall. In CR the dialogue is just so unrealistic for a film that is supposed to be realistic.
Perhaps because of the dialogue, or also the way Craig acts, I don't find the Bond/Vesper relationship at all convincing. The scene where they meet on the train is one of the worst of the series. The dialogue isn't anything real people would say. The way they tell each other about each other is painful. Despite Lazenby and Rigg hating each other on set, I found them to have far more chemistry on screen.
I also don't like that they focused so much on the origins of the character, and I don't find it believable either. The classic Bond character would have been formed in his teens and at university, not in his late 30s. People's mannerisms and tastes are formed at a younger age. Vesper didn't create Bond in the novels like she does in this film. I hated how she taught Bond how to be Bond, like in how to dress.
And taking advantage of the poker boom? It disgraces Fleming's novel by replacing baccarat with Texas Hold-em poker.
I could keep going on the faults of CR.
-The parkour chase
-The title song
-The titles
-The airport scenes
Cons:
-The anti climactic death of Le Chiffre
-Sudden change from action heavy film to Sean Connery Bond film
-Everything after Le Chiffe's death bores me a bit
-Doent really have a Bond film feel to it
-If I'm honest here, Vesper. She has some really cringeworthy lines in my opinion and I feel she is incredibly overated. However, Eva Green does look like a traditional Bond girl.
It's definetly not my favourite, but not my least either. I don't like it as a Bind film, but I do think it is a very good action film in general.
7.5/10
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
A character-driven story, for the most part
Strong action sequences
Bona fide actors rather than just pretty people saying lines
Daniel Craig, while more narrow in range, brings back Connery's and Lazenby's masculinity while remaining grounded
Eva Green, like Diana Rigg, imbues "the girl" with dimension and personality
Judi Dench plays a different M in temperament than before
Giancarlo Giannini is terrific as Mathis; too bad his character is ham-fisted in the next film
Mads Mikkelsen and the rest of the villains are creepy and menacing
A much better directorial effort by Martin Campbell than Goldeneye
A decent if uneven score by David Arnold
Good pacing
Capable editing
Beautiful cinematography
Interesting locations
Terrific costumes and wardrobe
An A level production
Cons
More or less follows Batman Begins with the prequel, rough-around-the-edges concept for the hero
Romance is underdeveloped; there's enough to understand it but not as much to really feel it
The parkour sequence, while good, is edited at times so we don't really see what's happening or happening in "real time"
Craig delivers the class line "The bitch is dead" too fast and like a throwaway when it was critical in the novel
Clunker lines like the bit about armor
They should have darkened Craig's hair and features; he washes out at times and his casting controversy would likely been avoided
Many of deleted scenes should be undeleted
The best Bond films since the classic 1960s period.
Good PTS
Excellent theme song
Great score
DC is very good as Bond
Good story
Plenty of glamour
Cons:
Le Chiffre is a bit forgettable
Eva Green (although very good) sometimes seems uncomfortable in the role and her performance seems a little forced at times
What? Craig's hair was fine. But also, it would look uncannily off-base for someone with a germanic facial structure to all of a sudden have dark hair, eyes, etc.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
I think the Car Chase is a critical Part of the Film -{
He looked pretty bad with dark brown hair in Sylvia. But just a little darkening could have helped, like to where Roger Moore's hair was darker in some of his films. They have similar complexions. The blond hair, however, is not where I would criticise Daniel Craig.
I don't mind him having blond hair -- my point is that some of the negative reaction to him as Bond is because he wasn't dark.
That was the point. Instead of letting you get immersed in another car chase - they trip you up! The girl who were saw the film with did a double take when this happened. It wasn't expected.
Also to all those who say Le Chiffres death is anticlimactic? You do know thats the way he buys it in the novel?
This ^
Though CR is still one of my favorite EON entries (thanks to using Fleming's work and getting IMO a rugged looking actor giving a solid performance), I also find it has a few flaws, though not as many when compared to the whole series.
On my first viewing I enjoyed the witty yet acerbic banter on the train. However, on repeated viewings it does reveal a staged feeling - as though the writers were trying to show off by trying to come up with clever dialogue for the actors as opposed to how real people
converse (and at the same time force feeding us narrative biographical exposition). Craig seems more natural at how he delivers it, but Greene seems very stilted and unsure of her accent in moments. I still like the "skewered" line though.
The whole timeline of their developing relationship - from emotional distrust/dislike to lovers - is just too short to be convincing, though Lazenby and Rigg's relationship curve was also pretty short for me to also be convincing (despite the shorthand music sequence showing them dating) . However, this is a problem that action films like these have difficulty in wrestling with. It's a hard decision to make when trying to balance the amount of time given to driving the plot with action/investigation scenes over establishing a believable love interest. As we see, it's the love relationship that usually loses out and ends up seeming forced. It could be better served in a longer film, but since this genre is about action and adventure, lengthening the film to make the relationships more beliveable could be self defeating.
Yes, the car chase was too short (is it possible some footage was cut to trim the running time?) and I thought having Vesper in the road a bit illogical - how would Le Chiffre know if Bond was going to be the next car? What if another car had entered the road ahead of Bond and arrived first? Also, from the preceding long shot of the chase, it appears that Bond is close enough to them that they would not have had enough time to stop and place her there then hide off the road nearby.
I don't quite understand the statement of the Miami sequence looking "cheap". What does that mean? I certainly didn't find the tarmac chase sequence boring. I thought it was creative and well staged. My chief complaint is that they make Bond a little too indestructible in it - he jumps off the moving tanker and doesn't even get his wind knocked out, then not only does he get right up but catches up and jumps back on the tanker speeding away from him! Yes, in comparison to the parkour sequence it's not anymore farfetched, but for me it's bit hard to swallow.
As far as focusing on the origin's of Bond's character and becoming a 00 - I didn't get the impression he was not a polished gentlemen or even an inexperienced agent. Despite M's anger at his decision to kill the bomb maker in the embassy, it seemed to me that Bond made a smart, instinctive act that only an experienced agent would have made - rather than let the man escape and deliver a bomb that could kill many innocents, he chose to try and capture him and when that became not feasible, he killed him - but not without also getting the bomb and the phone that contained the information he used to track down Le Chiffre.
Also, his cold, professional behaviour throughout much of the film reinforced the appearance to me that he had some years of experience behind him.
As far as his personal tastes - such as his dress and drinking - I didn't find anything disagreeable in the script that suggested he wasn't already a refined Bond. His first drink order in the Bahamas hotel bar wasn't very revealing - Bond in the novels imbibed all types of cocktails - even a Stinger (DAF) - and his next order in the film was for a bottle of Bollinger. As far as Vesper giving him supposedly a finer dinner jacket - yes, I thought that scenario was unnecessary, but then I put it down to the idea that it wasn't that Bond's own taste in his evening attire was incorrect - it was just that in her opinion it wasn't good enough for the cover role he was playing and since he seemed to be looking forward to pretending to be some high roller, he figured why not wear the costume anyway? It was only for a one time performance anyway.
I was also very disappointed that they changed the game to poker just because it's so popular. IMO, I actually find it more difficult to follow than baccarat (the only game that's even simpler to play is roulette). Not so much disgraceful to Fleming's work for me but more of a dishonor to the level of social sophistication Bond and Le Chiffre were supposed to be operating in. Poker is played for high stakes, yes, but not between tuxedo wearing players in a high end European gaming salon.
Yep, very much agree with you TP.
CR is my second favourite just behind OHMSS.
My favourite decade for the Bond films are the 1960's. Any Bond film of a more recent vintage has a big task for me to see it in the same light as those great films from that era. But I remember leaving the cinema after watching CR, smiling like a lottery winner and thinking I had just seen a film that deserves the same recognition as those fantastic early Bond films.
I still feel that way today. It obviously helped that it was taken from a Fleming novel which it stayed faithful to, so had a solid foundation to build from.
At a time when the Bourne films were making the Bond films feel out of date and past their prime Casino Royale came along and reclaimed the throne. Cheers -{
Greatest Bond film ever, I have since changed my mind.
only an opinion.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!