Casino Royale with cheese (Casino Royale [2006] (DVD))

Member Name: jaygami1986

Product:	Casino Royale [2006] (DVD)
Date:	14/02/08 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: read opp

Disadvantages: read opp

This review is on the twenty first James Bond film "Casino Royale", directed by Martin Campbell and starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Eva Green. The film was released in 2006 and was based on the novel by Peter Fleming. Casino Royale had previously been produced twice before, once in 1954 as a television programme and again in 1967 as a comedy version. The initial idea was to have Casino Royale released much earlier, but due to copyright of the name, they had to wait some time before they could make this film. The 21st Bond film also introduced a new member of the bond family and became the sixth James Bond.
I was quite spectacle about this film at first, largely because it introduced a new Bond. I had grown fond of Pierce Brosnan, and he had played Bond really well in his previous film, the best of which for me was Golden Eye. I was a fan of Craig's work having watched him in Road to Perdition and Layer Cake, he was a gifted talent. However, I didn't quite no whether he really could live up to the hype of being James Bond, did he have the charisma, the charm, and the ability to play a secret agent.

Plot:

The film begins with the introduction of the new James Bond, he is in Prague, were he has been ordered to kill a corrupt MI6 agent that has been leaking information, as a result of killing him, James in granted is double 00 status.
We then have the infamous Bond music, were we get weird shapes, cards, and women, something we have just come to expect from a Bond film and to be honest it wouldn't be a Bond film without this intro, it acts as a way of starting the film.
The film then picks up in Madagascar, were James is on the tale of an international bomb maker by the name of Mollaka. After getting free, James and Mollaka go on a high steep chase on foot across Madagascar., which finally leads them to the Nambutu embassy, were Bond kills the bomb maker and grabs his backpack with all the info, primarily who the bomb was or, which would then lead him to the bad guy. James is obviously in trouble having broken international laws by blowing up an embassy, but Bond tracks down the person who wants the bomb and heads off to sunny Bahamas. It is their that he does his business with the women and seduces Alex Dimitrios wife, Alex is the big bosses associate. The bomb is intend for the new Sky fleet which was to be envaled in Miami, which leads them on a action packed race to stop it. Le Chiffre, the big boss a math genius ordered the hit on the plane because he had bet his clients money against the Sky fleet market, if the bomb had hit the plane, Chiffre would have been a rich man, however as Bond had stopped the bomb, Le Chiffre must now get his clients money back and thus organizes a game of high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro, to which Bond is invited. Who wins the game, does Le Chiffre get his money, what happens to Bond and who can he trust? Watch the film to find out.

Characters:

Daniel Craig as James Bond: I think most people must have read the news when Craig was cast as the new James Bond, their was a huge outcry, people felt he wasn't the appropriate choice and threaten to boycott the film, they though he was too "Blond" and therefore would ruin the legacy of Bond, but filming still went ahead regardless of this bad publicity. For me Craig really shut up his critics and the fans that thought he couldn't do the job. He was such a cool and calculated bond, at first he showed no emotion, was direct and straight and what you would expect from Bond. But when he falls in love with Vesper Lynd, he shows such a normal human character, something we haven't seen in Bond since Her Majesty Service were Bond gets married for the first and only time. For me Craig was far more physical than the other bonds, he was more watch able because of the action scenes, which he actually done some of the stunts himself. We also get to see the cocky side of Bond and we even get too see Bond make mistakes during this film, wont say when but it does happen.

Eva Green as Vesper Lynd: Well it wouldn't be a Bond film without a female, lead role to play along side Mr Bond. I liked her character because she wasn't the typical women Bond usually goes for. She didn't buy into his macho attitude or impressed by his big gun, at first anyway. She herself was a bit pompous and sounded too posh, well I suppose that's expectable. Her character was chased by Bond throughout the film, but she always seemed to resist until the climax of the film, I wonder why.

Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre: First of all what a cool name for a villain, never heard that one before. Well Chiffre is the math genius that is brilliant at playing cards, o and blowing up the world and being an international banker for terrorist as a side job. I think this was perhaps the clever villains we have seen in some time; normally they all just have the intention of taking over the world, blah blah blah. However, with Le Chiffre we get to see what he's really thinking, he's like a skilled chess player, he thinks well before he moves, but as the film progresses even the best chess players have some bad luck, and his bad luck happens to be Bond.

Judi Dench as M: And we have M, which always plays a small role in all the Bond films, yet is needed as it wouldn't be the same without her I guess. M is well M, we actually get to see a small glimpse of her personal life in this film firstly when Bond breaks into her house, and secondly when they ring her and she's in bed with a male figure sleeping on the other side. First time we have ever seen that, I particularly liked the scene were Bond was just about the reveal what M stood for, but we were cut off, what a shame I always thought it was Maggie or something like that.

My View:

To be honest I actually enjoyed this film, it was something we had never come to expect, their were less gadgets and I felt this really made Bond a more stronger character, it was more about physicality and mind games, using your brain to get one step ahead, rather than having a car with rocket launchers, or F16 fighter planes. Bond was more original, old school for me it was like a secret agent of the 1960's, and he had that sort of look to him. Most people may have been disappointed with the lack of technology and gadgets used, but that's just something you will have to get over. I suppose Bonds character is so old school because they intended on Casino Royale being the first Bond film. I loved the fight scenes, the movement and fast pace of it just made you stand back and applaud it. The opening fight and chase scene was something that I had never seen in a Bond film before, it was actually realistic.
Like most Bond films, humour has to be played in occasionally to lighten up the mood, but they did it in a way that was hidden, and at times you actually forget to laugh. I don't know why, but the scene were he his being tortured with the rope hitting his area was funny for me, but at the same time I also felt really sick, I wouldn't wish that kind of punishment on any guy. Although, if I was a M16 agent I wouldn't mind using that trick on a bad guy.

We also get to see a sort of love bond relationship between Bond and Eva's character, it was as if at first she resists, but sooner or later they all fall for his cheesy lines. But this Bond film had some really unique and un predictable twists and turns, it almost given you the feeling that I never expected this or that to happen, and even more when you think the film is about to end, it pick up again, I suppose leaving us with some sense of suspense.
All in all a great Bond film, I was always a fan of the old school Bond films, and for me although it seemed modern at times, bought back a lot of memories from the way the Bond Characters use to act during the earlier films.

Info about production:

As I was initially saying, this was meant to be the first Bond film, however due to copyright and what not it wasn't until 1999, that EON Productions gained the rights for the film, after exchanging the rights for Spiderman to MGM.
The film actually took some time to write, unlike most films it was a transitional film that took many years, with first, second and even third drafts being made. Casino Royale was only the first film since 1987 (The Living Daylights) to be taken from an Ian Fleming novel or short story, which I guess meant they were going back old school. In October of 2005, Craig was given the role of James Bond which was initially only for one film, however due to his performance in Casino Royale this was extended. Filming took place all over the World, from England, to America, Italy, Germany, France, Africa and the Caribbean.

Cast:

Daniel Craig
Judi Dench
Eva Green
Mads Mikkelsen
Giancarlo Giannini

Run Time: 144 minutes
Budget: $102,000,000
Turnover: $593,000,000

Summary: James Bond is back