Monday, December 04, 2006
CASINO ROYALE
I guess I’ll post a spoiler warning, but if you’re reading a blog entry about a film you deserve what you get.
A few years ago a friend of mine told me about a theory that James Bond was actually a cover identity that the British government bestowed on their top agents. It would explain why he looked and acted differently from time to time. It would be so much easier on the film franchise if they just adopted that motif and just ignored how old Bond was supposed to be, how long he’s been operating, and to whom he’s been reporting. As it is, we are introduced to Bond at the “beginning” of his career as 007, even though it’s Judi Dench as M who’s supposed to have promoted him. What the hell, though. If there’s any film where you can laugh it off by saying “it’s just a movie” it’s one featuring James Bond.
A lot of people have said that this is the best Bond in years, and maybe they’re right. Personally, I think Daniel Craig, with his big nose, puffy lips, and gumby haircut is the ugliest Brit this side of Mick Jagger, but I can buy him as Bond. I’m just as glad that they dispensed with the CGI effects for this film, but I think it would have been better if they stuck with the Bond formula a little more. I’m sure the movie followed the book very closely, but I’m just as sure that the only reason they had a Texas Hold’ Em tournament was because it’s a TV ratings-grabber. In the next movie, maybe he’ll have to beat the supercriminal mastermind at an American Idol competition.
I really enjoyed the parkour segment at the beginning of the film. I don’t care that this Bond didn’t have the class to regret that he had to chase the guy up - and through – a building under construction, I love parkour in general and it’s always fun to watch. I was hoping that this would be a recurring villain, like Jaws. He did have the class to not throw the agent who botched the operation under a bus when he made his report, so that’s something. Speaking of parkour, though, does Jackie Chan know that the French have given his shtick a name and claimed it as their own?
I do like the gadgets Bond traditionally uses, and while Q was absent they had a very nice scene with his glove compartment, which they nicely telegraphed. I found it odd, though, that considering his car came equipped with an entire medical lab and armory, somehow they forgot to install a driver’s-side airbag?
I know that he was supposed to be just starting out as the “young Bond”. He was supposed to be not quite as suave and debonair as we know the character to be. They usually pointed this up be visiting the vodka martini thing about a dozen times. Even though he’s not the James Bond we know, though, I still expected a better showing from a highly trained secret agent. The scene where he got tortured – again, lifted straight from the book – I knew would not result in him giving up the info as it would be standard to train an agent to resist torture. However, even though he’d nearly been horribly killed twice in as many hours, I don’t see how we’re supposed to accept that he was alone with the villain and he didn’t just break the rickety chair he was tied to and kill the guy.
While there were parts that had me scratching my head, I could believe his free jumping off two giant cranes with no problem, yet I can not believe that he would ever consider e-mailing his boss his resignation. He’s a secret agent. You can’t do that. Period. Maybe face to face with an agreement not to leave the country for a while, but not an e-mail from a boat in the Mediterranean which reads “Dear Auntie M, Hate you. Hate England. Took the girl. Bond.” Why that didn’t result in an immediate extraction team instead of a phone call two weeks later is beyond me.
There was a cute line at the beginning after he breaks into M’s house where he tells her, “I thought M was just a randomly assigned syllable, not that it stood for-“ M cuts him off before he can say it. I was wondering if that was supposed to be a nod to something, and maybe it is. I’m sure my idea’s wrong, but I found it odd that he said “randomly assigned syllable”. Most people would say “letter” but for some reason he was thinking “syllable”. Is there a famous spy whose name begins with the syllable “Em”? I can think of one. That would be cool.
A few years ago a friend of mine told me about a theory that James Bond was actually a cover identity that the British government bestowed on their top agents. It would explain why he looked and acted differently from time to time. It would be so much easier on the film franchise if they just adopted that motif and just ignored how old Bond was supposed to be, how long he’s been operating, and to whom he’s been reporting. As it is, we are introduced to Bond at the “beginning” of his career as 007, even though it’s Judi Dench as M who’s supposed to have promoted him. What the hell, though. If there’s any film where you can laugh it off by saying “it’s just a movie” it’s one featuring James Bond.
A lot of people have said that this is the best Bond in years, and maybe they’re right. Personally, I think Daniel Craig, with his big nose, puffy lips, and gumby haircut is the ugliest Brit this side of Mick Jagger, but I can buy him as Bond. I’m just as glad that they dispensed with the CGI effects for this film, but I think it would have been better if they stuck with the Bond formula a little more. I’m sure the movie followed the book very closely, but I’m just as sure that the only reason they had a Texas Hold’ Em tournament was because it’s a TV ratings-grabber. In the next movie, maybe he’ll have to beat the supercriminal mastermind at an American Idol competition.
I really enjoyed the parkour segment at the beginning of the film. I don’t care that this Bond didn’t have the class to regret that he had to chase the guy up - and through – a building under construction, I love parkour in general and it’s always fun to watch. I was hoping that this would be a recurring villain, like Jaws. He did have the class to not throw the agent who botched the operation under a bus when he made his report, so that’s something. Speaking of parkour, though, does Jackie Chan know that the French have given his shtick a name and claimed it as their own?
I do like the gadgets Bond traditionally uses, and while Q was absent they had a very nice scene with his glove compartment, which they nicely telegraphed. I found it odd, though, that considering his car came equipped with an entire medical lab and armory, somehow they forgot to install a driver’s-side airbag?
I know that he was supposed to be just starting out as the “young Bond”. He was supposed to be not quite as suave and debonair as we know the character to be. They usually pointed this up be visiting the vodka martini thing about a dozen times. Even though he’s not the James Bond we know, though, I still expected a better showing from a highly trained secret agent. The scene where he got tortured – again, lifted straight from the book – I knew would not result in him giving up the info as it would be standard to train an agent to resist torture. However, even though he’d nearly been horribly killed twice in as many hours, I don’t see how we’re supposed to accept that he was alone with the villain and he didn’t just break the rickety chair he was tied to and kill the guy.
While there were parts that had me scratching my head, I could believe his free jumping off two giant cranes with no problem, yet I can not believe that he would ever consider e-mailing his boss his resignation. He’s a secret agent. You can’t do that. Period. Maybe face to face with an agreement not to leave the country for a while, but not an e-mail from a boat in the Mediterranean which reads “Dear Auntie M, Hate you. Hate England. Took the girl. Bond.” Why that didn’t result in an immediate extraction team instead of a phone call two weeks later is beyond me.
There was a cute line at the beginning after he breaks into M’s house where he tells her, “I thought M was just a randomly assigned syllable, not that it stood for-“ M cuts him off before he can say it. I was wondering if that was supposed to be a nod to something, and maybe it is. I’m sure my idea’s wrong, but I found it odd that he said “randomly assigned syllable”. Most people would say “letter” but for some reason he was thinking “syllable”. Is there a famous spy whose name begins with the syllable “Em”? I can think of one. That would be cool.
Labels: Films
