Casino Royale
I’m a bit of a James Bond fan. I have been for years.
However, saying that, I’ve never had the urge to read any of the books. Perhaps I’m not really a true fan after all. Even so, I was still first in line for the latest installment…
Casino Royale isn’t your average Bond flick. Far from it. There’s no ‘Q’ (or even ‘R’), no Moneypenny, no real gadgets and no witty one liners. It’s sometimes slow in places. It’s quite “gritty” (to quote Andrew) and the new Bond isn’t afraid of getting blood on his hands, shirt, face or even up the walls.
A major plus point is the lesser reliance on the CGI special effects that totally ruined Die Another Day. However the bad guy is a banker with allergies and debt problems who is never hugely menacing - which perhaps lets the film down slightly.
Overall, it’s a good movie. Daniel Craig isn’t bad and the whole film moved Bond into a new direction. It even had a twist, albeit drawn out. I dare say it’s probably one of the better 007 films of recent times - but mainly because it is so different. But considering the last film had an invisible car in it, there’s only so many routes you can go after that…
Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to leave this ‘review’ here, I can’t.
What’s bugged me in the most recent Brosnan Bond films is the blatant ‘product placement’. True, there’s been a certain amount for decades - I seem to think Smirnoff makes an appearance in Dr No for example. In recent years though, watching a Bond film is like sitting through a very long action packed advert. I’m sorry, if I really wanted to watch adverts, I can do that without having to pay £7 for the privilege.
I know exactly what you’re thinking. Surely it’s not that bad, is it? Well frankly, yes it is.
In one part, Bond drives the new Ford Mondeo shot at jaunty angles just like a car advert - it’s almost painful to watch. Speaking of which…
Bond gets asked “Beautiful watch. Is it a Rolex?”. He replies: “No, an Omega.” *cringe*
There’s multiple Sony products on show and a host of other brands slipped in.
It’s a shame really and it does sadden me that the franchise has become more obsessed with making money over a decent film. Did Fleming really create James Bond 007: Licensed to sell? I don’t think so.
Is it true Bond? In some sense perhaps. But certainly not the type of Bond film that I originally became a huge fan of. 8/10
August 26th, 2007 at 12:04 am
[...] years and I’ll happily admit that the product placement is much less distracting than in Casino Royale. Not many movies are free of it these days anyway - [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am
[...] of Solace is the latest 007 outing, and it’s a direct follow on from Casino Royale. Meeester Bond is now after a bit of revenge and he quickly gets to work hunting down unknown [...]