Entertainment HomeDVD review : Casino Royale .
by: Anthony Chatfield
 |
I’ve always been a huge fan of James Bond. The campy, over the top suave secret agent was the epitome of coolness from the time I was old enough to watch Sean Connery’s black and white firsts. The one liners, the tuxedos, and the martinis (shaken not stirred) all made 007 one of the coolest secret agents in film, and for 20 films he more or less remained the same slick secret agent, slowly but surely growing more and more stagnant with the years.
By the time Pierce Brosnan hung up his tuxedo, the series had become something of a cliché. Everything in a James Bond flick could be figured out before you watched it. There would be a love interest, a femme fatale with a suggestive name, an evil nemesis with ridiculous plans of world domination, and multiple near death escapes from impossible situations. The climax would regularly be filled with slick one liners and Bond making out with his love interest on their way to a secluded beach paradise.
The formula worked, but after 20 films even the most diehard Bond fans began to grow weary. And so, when Brosnan left, the studio decided to try something different. Instead of casting yet another suave, raven haired Britain, they went with the gruff, gangster playing blond, Daniel Craig.
It seemed like a poor move, but only a few minutes into Casino Royale you’ll see that they could not have picked a better bond, and never have they made a better Bond film.
Casino Royale is a film that doesn’t try to follow a formula. Rather it tries to show a man struggling with the weight of his new responsibility, learning how to be a double-0 agent and occasionally scattering in a few subtle references to the Bond we know and love in past franchises.
Daniel Craig’s gritty, down to earth approach to the Bond character is exactly what the film needed, as instead of a suave, machine gun toting secret agent with a smile and pass key to leave it all behind, we’re given a man with a rash sense of urgency, unwilling to follow protocol, making mistake after mistake, and no matter how incredibly talented he might be, show’s a strikingly human side.
I’ll liken it to the manner in which the new superhero films have found such ample success with both critics and audiences. An audience wants a character with problems; desires, family, things they can lose. When we’re presented with an indestructible superhero with no faults, the film can do little to make you any more invested than you were when the film started. The same can be said of Bond. He had become a modern day superhero, idealized to the point of icon, in which he could do no wrong, and he would always succeed.
 |
Casino Royale takes all of that away and makes Bond human again. As a film, the new Bond is magnificently shot. Gone are the overabundant chromes and neon of recent Bond flicks, replaced with the Mediterranean backdrop of Casino Royale and the exploits that lead Bond there. Also gone are the outrageous villains with plans of world domination.
Our villain here is not only a simple con artist, he is in trouble of his own, threatened by the men whose money he took in the first place. Motivated by his own fear and a certain childlike arrogance, Le Chiffre, is a realistic hero, who by actually managing a stab at Bond, proves a perfect foil, not only in his arrogance, but in his humanity. These are not super humans. They are men with exceptional talents, and endless foibles. And ultimately, the greatest downfall of any of Casino Royale’s many characters is love. Whether it is the promise of love, or the protection thereof, love drives these men and women in a way unlike any Bond film before.
By being something completely different, by throwing out the old formula and starting fresh from the source material, a tactic that has worked very well of late for other mediums, the Bond franchise has returned and its returned with a vengeance. I think Daniel Craig might be around for a little while.
[ Back to top ]
About The Author
I'm a self avowed unemployed writer, working on semi-constant basis to try and overcome the need to go and work a real job. I've written more than 200 articles and reviews and am constantly scouring the internet for any and all excuses and methods to make myself less dependent on corporate pay days. Visit my website at TheChatfield.com
Movie Trailer: Casino Royale
'Entertainment.WebWorlds-One.com' is the name, - what's the game?
- welcome to Entertainment.WebWorlds-One.com, - an exciting new initiative in info-mercial marketing on the internet.
This is where we bring you(r) postings about Entertainment news and trends in all their various guises . . .
[ Back to top ]
[ Back to top ]
Additional information:
Yahoo! Movies: New DVD Releases Next Week
New DVD Releases Next Week
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:23am A paranoid young boy is swept into the animated worlds of fantasy, horror and adventure when he trapped inside a public library. Guided by three books, he battles his way to the exit and conquers his fears along the way. Features the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy and more. (1 hr. 15 min.)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am This adaptation of John Fox Jr.'s novel was the first feature to be shot outdoors in Technicolor. It tells the tale of a railroad engineer who inadvertently fans the flames of an ancient family feud when he arrives to build a line through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Song ("A Melody From the Sky"). (1 hr. 42 min.)
Beau Geste
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am The theft of an enormous gem, the Blue Water, sends the three notoriously adventuresome Geste brothers into the French Foreign Legion. Gary Coper, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston boldly play the three loyal siblings who have taken the rap to save the female culprit. Assigned to a desert command, they suffer cruelties under the heavy hand of Sergeant Markoff (Brian Donlevy) and then come upon a mysterious tragedy at their fort. Produced in a giant sweep with hard-edged realism by director William Wellman, this version of BEAU GESTE is the classic one, featuring fine turns from Cooper, Milland, and Preston as well as Donlevy and Susan Hayward. Based on the epic novel by Percival Christopher Wren, the film has been remade and parodied several times. Don't miss the beginning--the haunting opening sequence is one of the most famous in Hollywood history. (1 hr. 43 min.)
Lonely Are the Brave
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am Jack Burns tries to spring his friend from jail and ends up on the wrong side of the law and on the run alone. The sheriff must bring him to justice even though his sympathies lie with Jack. (1 hr. 47 min.)
Amores Que Matan
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
Dias Salvajes
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am Ali Baba, son of the murdered Caliph, returns with his posse of forty thieves to save Baghdad, free his captured love, and reclaim the throne. This Arabian adventure is pure Technicolor escapism and the second pairing of Hall and Montez.
Freedom - Complete Collection
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am Life in Eden is anything but paradise, as the lunar home to humanity after Earth’s destruction is pretty dull--especially for a teenager. That’s why "tube-racing” is all the rage for those brave (and crazy!) enough to break the law just to get a taste of speed. But do Takeru and his friends Kazuma and Bismark have what it takes to handle this dangerous underground culture? Or will they get eaten up by the more experienced racers? This high-speed anime has some of the greatest racing sequences ever put into animation, and this collection presents every episode of the popular series. (220 hr.)
Night Stalker
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
Peanuts: 1960's Collection
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2008-2009
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
Essential Games Of The Detroit Tigers
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available
Allegheny Sunset
Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 9:22am No description available (85 hr.)
Thank you for visiting WebWorlds-One.com, - call back soon and have a Nice Day!
[ Back to top ]
©2006-09