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]