Casino Royale

Hello, movie-keteers, and welcome to the second part of November's movie of the month! In this review, Your Racist Friend and Wicked Little Critta will take a look at James Bond 21, Casino Royale. This latest installment of the time-honored franchise tells the story of how James Bond (Daniel Craig) becomes 007. When money launderer to the terrorist LeChiffre (Mads Mikkelson) holds a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale, MI6 sends still-fresh-from-earning-his-00-stripes Bond to win the game, take all of LeChiffre's money, and make him cry like a little girl. Along to help is beautiful treasury agent Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Will Bond succeed, or is the novice Bond in way over his head?

YRF: I really, really liked Casino Royale. I like the series a lot, despite the many less than stellar installations in it. What did you think? You don't really have a lot of experience with Bond films, correct?

WLC: I liked it a lot, too. I have some experience with the series, having seen a few older Bond films years ago, but I'm left mostly with vague impressions now rather than hard and fast opinions of them. My taste runs to a more wholesome action hero that gets his hands dirty and doesn't womanize just for kicks. Thankfully, Casino Royale delivered in both those departments.
Was this Casino Royale a remake of an older version? Or a storyline that hadn't been told yet?

YRF: Casino Royale was the first Bond novel, which was filmed as part of a TV anthology in America in the 50s, with Peter Lorre playing LeChiffre. Then, there was a "satire" version of it starring David Niven, and everybody under the sun then in cameos. There is an amusing turn in that by Woody Allen as Jimmy Bond, James Bond's "disappointing" nephew. But this is the first proper adaptation of Casino Royale, yes. The Broccoli's never had the rights before.

WLC: Ok, good to know. I wasn't sure if there was something it could be compared to.
Anyway, the movie was a hit. It pretty much grabbed me by the throat within the first 15 minutes. We are introduced to some terrorists up to their not-so-good schemes, and Bond in the midst of a job that is getting a bit out of control. That first on-foot chase is totally gripping. It shows how Bond doesn't hesitate to jump head-first into his work, but that he also operates on a slightly different level than the average thug. Plus it's a blast. What were your initial thoughts after this scene, YRF?

YRF: I loved the opening of the film. Let's not forget the black and white opening of the film, showing Bond's earning of his 00 status. The neatest thing about that to me was that they worked in the now-infamous "shooting the fish-eye lens" into the actual film. That was really cool.

And yeah, not only was that "stop the terrorist" sequence kickass, it was also very important in that it shows us the way Bond operates, him thinking on his feet and using his environment to his advantage, and also the fact that he's not afraid to use the blunderbuss approach if it suits the situation. I think the thing that demonstrates that the best is the chase scene at the construction site. This terrorist is doing all the crazy parkour stuff to get away from Bond. At one point, he jumps through a small open window in a sheetrock wall.....and Bond just comes crashing through the wall itself a moment later.

YRF: So, what did you think of Daniel Craig? There's been a lot of controversy over his casting as Bond.

WLC: All I heard about Craig that might have been thought of as controversy was someone saying: "James Bond isn't blond!" Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect. But Craig was fantastic. He did the character soooo well, balancing the cool and self-confidence that is Bond, but also the "Oh sh*t! that didn't work..." that might have been more frequent in his early days. I also noticed a side of him that I don't remember from earlier Bond movies, this being a "caring" side, if you will. It's not like he breaks down and cries when he kills someone, but I could definitely see even just some hesitation that gave me reason to believe he doesn't take the consequences of his job lightly. In short, he impressed me.
How about you? What controversy was buzzing?

YRF: There was a small contingent that felt, for whatever reason.....hair color, height, that he wouldn't be a good Bond. I thought he was an outstanding Bond. Just because doesn't resemble Ian Fleming's sketch of the character to be used as a model as well as, say, Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan, doesn't mean that he can't get inside the character. I'm fighting the urge to go off on a tangent about Tobey Maguire and how he only really looks like Peter Parker, but I think I'll suppress that urge and stay on topic. I don't love the portrayal from the Moore years of Bond as this wisecracking playboy. Brosnan talked about this kind of thing a lot in interviews, mentioning that the big thing that Timothy Dalton (especially) missed was how dangerous Bond is. If you think about it, and the older movies don't play this up too much, his primary function is wetworks. He's an assassin, albeit one who enjoys some of the finer things in life. It can be a very tough thing to play an established character like Bond, Allen Quartermain, Batman, etc, because there's all this baggage to deal with. I know that I was looking for certain character things, and Craig hit every one of them. I think this might sound sacrilegious, but I feel his portrayal of Bond surpassed even Connery's. I was completely sold on every aspect of the character. Back when they announced that he got the part, and released that promo pic of him in the tuxedo with that ridiculously long-barrelled gun, I kinda looked at him, and went, "Hmmm." Those blue eyes of his are really intense, aren't they? That kinda reminds me of Peter O'Toole. He was also a really, really physical specimen in the film. I read that he gained 20 pounds of muscle for the role, and I think you can see every bit of work that he did in the film. What did you think of the action sequences/fight choreography in the film?

WLC: Twenty pounds of muscle? Ouch!
Regarding fight choreography, one thing I'm noticing even now as I reflect back is that there weren't a bunch of long, drawn-out fight scenes, which was kind of a nice change. I dunno, sometimes you see the hero character battling someone for five minutes straight, and in my opinion, that can easily get boring. But Casino Royale had much shorter combat scenes, probably due to the fact that there were a lot of guns used. In the scenes where there was melee fighting, I felt like it was better than most other action films: a punch is thrown, and the guy feels it. Bond gets blood on himself, and is even hurt pretty badly several times. It's not pretty and dressed up action, and it doesn't beat the dead horse at all.
One thing I really appreciated was that people weren't as expendable. Bond does a significant amount of killing, but this film doesn't just make his opponents fighting fodder. They're more real. Would you agree?

YRF: I very much agree. As much as I like watching Jackie Chan or Tony Jaa slug it out for ten minutes straight, it's not very realistic. The fights, and the aftermath of the fights, were very visceral, and I think more true to life. I don't think I've ever seen so much blood in a Bond film, and that's a good thing. And it's not like he's Superman either.....even the more untrained people he's matched up with can give him trouble, which is definitely realistic. But yeah, they put a human face on his opponents. Like the guy he kills in the museum. He sits him down afterwards, and pats him on the cheek as if to say "tough luck, old man." But let's talk about other aspects of the film....how did you like the story?

WLC: I must confess, the story seemed secondary to me because everything else was so good: the pace, the characters, the fights...but we'll get to more of that later. The story was fine. I admit that these plotlines that keep the audience on their toes aren't my forte, and there were definitely times that I was left wondering why he was doing what he was doing, and what we were hoping for in the end. The whole concept of gambling to catch the man funding terrorists was a bit over the top, but also lends itself to great entertainment. I kept thinking, did he have to take a class in poker in order to get 00 status? It was just a bit much.

YRF: Catch them? No, the whole point was that they knew that LeChiffre was laundering money for terrorists, and that the simplest way to stop him was to take all his money....in a perfectly legal manner as well. It was common knowledge in MI6 that Bond was a good enough card player to take LeChiffre for everything he was worth. So, not so much catch him as stop him. And I agree with you that it takes a little suspension of disbelief that the British Secret Service would resort to such an unconventional method, but it's an intriguing plot point.

WLC: Right. In a word, intriguing.
What are your thoughts on the other characters? Anyone stand out to you?

YRF: I hope they stay consistent on Felix Leiter this time around. Jeffrey Wright is a great actor, and I really enjoyed seeing him in that role. I think he did a lot with very little screen time. Looking at Wikipedia, I see that Wright is the 8th actor to play Leiter, 9th if you count Bernie Casey in Never Say Never Again. So, I hope they keep him around. I thought Mads Mikkelson was really good, if not amazing, as Le Chiffre. And Giancarlo Gianni as Mathis? Really, a lot of class actors in this.....more than any other Bond I remember. I've always liked Judi Dench quite a bit since Goldeneye. I think Bernard Lee was a bit of a talking head in the older films, and that she breathes more life into the character. Before I discuss Eva Green, what did you think of the other characters?

WLC: Ha, interesting. I felt like out of all the characters, Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter was the one I liked the least. Maybe if he'd had a bigger role I'd feel differently, but he seemed to baby-faced to be doing anything undercover. When he first leaned over to talk to Bond, I was thinking, "Who the heck is this guy? I'm not buying it."
I will say, Mads Mikkelson was great. Completely believable and successfully intimidating as LeChiffre. He seemed surrounded by mystery, and even a bit creepy. I especially liked his chrome inhaler, as you know. He may have difficulty breathing, but he has difficulty breathing with style.
You're right about a cast full of class actors. I agree with you about Gianni as Mathis, and what's not to like about Judi Dench? She's powerful, and somehow added a lot to the comedic aspects of the film. She's pretty much what you'd want for the character of M.
Even the smaller characters were enjoyable. I remember really liking some of the other card players, the dealer, and the banker. Don't ask me their names, though.
Eva Green? Well, I'll let you go first.

YRF: Ha, the chrome inhaler was pretty awesome. Quentin Tarantino and Pierce Brosnan met with MGM to pitch a Tarantino-directed Casino Royale, but it didn't fly. The chrome inhaler made me think of that, kind of the odd thing you'd see in a Tarantino film. But if they're smart, the Broccolis will let Tarantino near the franchise at some point. With the right script, Tarantino is quite capable of making the be-all, end-all Bond movie........

.......but yeah, Eva Green. I thought she was pretty good. A lot of the work was done for the actors by the screenplay, and I think Paul Haggis has hit another one out of the park in terms of the script and dialogue. But I bought the love story between Bond and Vesper Lynd. Green is both sensitive and firm, when it's called for. And I thought she had good chemistry with Daniel Craig. I particularly liked the scene in the shower.......

WLC: Me too! That was a good piece they put in there. It really brought the two of them together in a real way, and it was a bit of a break from the harshness of the rest of the movie. (For our readers who haven't seen the movie, this scene isn't anything dirty.)
I also really liked Eva Green. She had a good amount of substance, and made it clear she wouldn't be just another female falling all over Bond. I bought their love story as well, it was successfully romantic and heartbreaking at the same time. I wasn't expecting that kind of depth in their relationship, but I'm glad they pulled it off.

YRF: To get to closing, what did you like least about the movie? I'll tell you what it was for me.....those two old ladies behind us cowing their gum and muttering every 30 seconds.

WLC: That definitely did not enhance my movie experience. Another note to our readers: if you don't like violence or gambling, then don't see Casino Royale. You'd think that people would have a decent understanding by now of what Bond movies are. But apparently not.

What I liked least about the movie? Probably the scene where Bond is being tortured. It wasn't grotesque or prolonged, but was still very unpleasant. But then again, I'm very sensitive to those kinds of scenes...so it might just be me. However, I would assume that men would be more bothered by it than women, considering what they do to him. I'll leave the rest to your imaginations.

Overall, I give Casino Royale a 12. Very, very well done, extremely entertaining, and not following the recent trend of action movies going way over the top. Your rating, YRF?

YRF: Yeah, they did keep the torture scene short, and not incredibly graphic. I did think the movie definitely pushed the boundaries of what's allowed in a PG-13 movie now. I think it was more of a light R, but that's not necessarily a complaint. The good thing about the torture scene is that it showed Bond's loyalty and commitment to his job, and to England.....even in the face of horrible dismemberment and probable death. And if the audience wasn't firmly rooting for him at that point, then there's no way they wouldn't be after that.

I thought Casino Royale was better than the previous best Bond, which was Goldfinger, in my opinion. I give Casino Royale a 17. The score would be higher, but I'm holding out for a bit more of the oddness and flamboyance of the old Bonds, without losing the down to earth feel of this one. That gives it what, 14.5? Respectable!