The name's Crap, James Crap...

Hoo boy... they threw away the classic Bond formula and substituted a routine actioner, and a looong, slooow routine actioner to boot.



Fiendish villain? Nope, just a banker with some ailments.

Villain's crazy scheme? Errr, somethin' do with money. ("One Million Dollars!" - minus the "warhead, alas.)

Cool gadgets? This Bond's so busy with boring old computers, he could be an IT guy on the side.

Ridiculously exciting stunts? Well if you count some recycled parkour/urban gymnastics and a rote fuel truck fight for the wheel... Yawn.

Humor? The cheesy puns and smartass comments whose proud history dates back to Sean Connery, the one true Bond -- they seem to have forgotten the comedy altogether.


Nope - this is back to the "serious" Bond they last attempted and failed with back in the Timothy Dalton era. I suppose even that would have been fun if the story for this new series entry had half a brain, but nooooo... you could see the twists coming a mile away, at least if you hadn't fallen asleep in the endless card game sequence. Seriously, did one viewer believe Bond was going to live happily ever after with Vesper? They just had to drag it out for 150 minutes till any small fun was drained out of this sorry mess.

Blech!

1 out of 5.

knew it!

Yeah, I totally saw that coming too.

Next up, makeshift gives it **.

I'm thinking ***1/2 stars, actually...

parkour was old the instant Nike used it in an ad.

So, I have to get up really early tomorrow, so I'm not seeing it in IMAX until tomorrow at midnight. Sniff. But I'm glad to see all the glowing reviews (mostly).

Later grade, loyal?

Hey! God knows I would have loved to be glowing too. As it was, I staked my movie cred on dragging a skeptical friend out to see it, and we were both fiercely disappointed...


(RIP Bond, though I'm sure they'll once again resurrect your true spirit in a decade or two -- you're too good a character to be turned into a generic action clone! For now, I'll just count my lucky stars that Jason Statham seems to be taking up your slack...)

[font=century gothic]I know this will come as a shock to anyone who has read my last 100 posts or so, but I just flat out loved the film. Craig is perfect. I'm not sure how he'll turn out over all in the long run, but if he gives the same kind of effort in each Bond film he does, he'll easily be considered one of the best, maybe even surpassing Connery. In Royale, he gives the best performance of Bond since Connery in Goldfinger. It's that good.

One thing I liked about the movie is that they don't waste time getting down to things. I time all of the movies I watch in theaters (I'm a nerd with time) and the pre-credit sequence clocks in at a brisk 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Not like the last two overlong sequences that went on for about 15 minutes. Bond kills the two men to earn him his "00" and were off. The following 137 minutes are a breeze. With the exception of maybe a couple of scenes in between Bond falling in love and the finale, it's a very fast moving film, and that's even with an hour going by before we get to Royale. That's thanks mostly to Stuart Biard. I don't think it's a coincidence that he edited my favorite film (Superman I) and now this. Did I mention the film is good?

I'm trying to keep this as short as possible, so I'll limit my thoughts to a few more short points.

1. I wish there was more Felix Leiter. Thanks to Jeffery Wright, it's just great to have this character back on screen again. I hope they will use more of him in Risico (Yes, I'm calling it now that that will be the title. I have no idea how they'll sell that, but that's what it should be).

2. The credit sequence is easily the best work Daniel Klienman has done in his tenor. They're inventive and entertaining to look at, especially with Craig walking up towards the camera at the end.

And then there is "You Know My Name". I understand the complaints going in, because it doesn't really sound like a Bond theme. The thing is, in the movie, it's absolutely perfect. I'd go as far as to say it's the best theme since "A View to a Kill".

3. The poker scenes are well done. That's one worry I had going into the film. I was wondering if the poker scenes would kill the flow of the film simply because in the novel, once the playing begins, there's nothing in between except for a brief moment. Here, the poker scenes are divided up into three seperate parts, with one action scene even, and it flows perfectly. Thanks again Mr. Baird.

4. The score by David Arnold is fantastic. He saves the Bond theme for the absolute perfect moment in the film - the ending, and only makes the ending so much better, and also because of that one little line. I just can't wait until the music goes back to the basics. Hopefully in the next film, we'll be drowned in the James Bond theme.

5. Eva Green is one of, if not the best Bond girl. Unlike Bond girls prior, her characer is multi-layered and complex. You almost have to see the film to understand this next point, but her character is almost poetic in the last third of the film.

To wrap up this summary I guess nice and easily, this easily makes my top three Bond films.

A+

I now can't wait for November 7, 2008[/font]

[font=century gothic]I forgot to add one more thing. For a film that was supposed to be gadget free, there are a good chunk of them. Granted, there are nowhere near as many as the last couple of films, but they're still there. The heart defibulator in the car was something new.[/font]

Second best bond film I've seen, Goldeneye was alittle better

A-

Finally we get a Bond as good as Goldeneye. DC did great. I hope to see him in more.

A

brilliant

9/10

It was superb!

No surprise here. I loved it.


Dunno about the title sequence though... no dancing girls is first time since... well... ever. Friend pointed out that maybe dancing girls would be an inappropriate character statement at that stage of Bond's career. Still they were... different. I was always partial to Klienman's work on The World Is Not Enough... the song and the oily women worked for me thematically.

The scene where Bond comforts Vesper in the shower after she's seen him kill the two men is easily one of the best moments in the entire series.

[font=century gothic]I thought there were some dancing girls. Not like in the one's prior, but at least outlines of some.

I'm going to see the film again tomorrow so I'll watch out for it.

As for his work on The World is Not Enough, I saw the film again last night. I agree those were very well done as well. I'd probably place it second out of the five.[/font]

Is this a classic like Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye or The Spy Who Loved me? Not even close. This is a second tier James Bond movie.

The script leaves a lot to be desired. The villains are generic and bland. The pacing and the editing is erratic. The movie is 20 minutes too long. The theme song is decent and the background score uses variations of the song. This movie is a more flashy Bourne movie with a less stellar script.

Daniel Craig has succeeded beyond expectations. He excels in the action scenes especially when he was chasing the African bomber.

Overall a good movie.

B+

Jesus, this sounds identical to my review, well with a little more flair.. I've watched BOND movie's for years and like the Brosnan Era or not, even way beforehand, BOND movie's were always known for their Gadgets, hard Martini drinking, Womanizing, etc and while this had the god BOND Formula for the story, Daniel Craig just wasn't IT.. However, he was better than Timothy Dalton so that's a little more redeemable..

A/A-

Only issue I had was with the first hour. The action scenes were far too long and overall I feel Bond chasing Africans, bombs, and making out with a hot girl for a full hour before finally getting to the real storyline, didn't exactly fit... Hell, M could've just briefed him of the Le Chiffe situation to begin the movie, and it wouldn't have been missing much, other than some fancy action scenes and lots of money shots for the trailers.

But once it gets to the casino and Eva Green... absolutley perfect. The quality of filmmaking in this film far surpasses any of the Brosnan Bonds, just from the direction and cinematography, to the score, to the acting, it's on another level in that area. The emotional depth and vulnerability he brings to Bond and his Vesper relationship, excellent. From the Green introduction on, you've got one of the most finely tuned and most intense movies to come along in a while, the tension built at the poker table or in the torture scene is amazing. The torture scene in particular I would rank as one of the best scenes this decade has seen so far and maybe one of the best scenes ever period, though there are other sequences in the movie that came very close to that as well.

Daniel Craig of course brings it, to noone who's read the reaction so fars surprise, and I don't think I need to elaborate on how well he truly does in this role. Eva Green is also bril, I'm not a huge Bond afficiando but I can't see how she can't rank among the best female characters this series has ever seen, easily. Guy who played Le Chiffre also was an enticing villian, for the time he had on screen.

If it wasn't for the first hour, this would be an all out masterpiece... unfortunatley it has that dead weight, so it has to settle for an A/A-.

Not only is Daniel Craig the best James Bond the series has had to date, but this is my favorite James Bond film. I can't believe how much I loved it. It's my favorite film of the year by a mile, and while I know I should really reserve hyperbole, I honestly believe as of right now it's one of my favorite films of all time.

8.2/10
A

I have to consider it my second or third favorite film so far this year. Might have been higher if I wasn't in a really bad mood going into the theater. I have to see it again. I can't even begin to compare how much more I liked this than any of the other Bond movies I've seen.

CASINO ROYALE

Harkins theatre OKC
300 / 100% full
missed all the trailers due to traffic, bummer!

Casino Royale is a good re-introduction of james bond and like batman begins and superman returns it tries to "start over" and present us something new and a little bit different with the new bond and it works overall. Daniel Craig fills in the spot seamslessly although you do miss things like the "shaken not stirred" line but of course this is bond before he truly turned into the "real" bond we've seen in the past. The plot wasn't a very deep one but it did have some very interesting moments such as learning a tinsy about M, the quad jack showdown and the cardiac arrest in the car moment. It was nice to see the black fellow from Syriana in the film as well. He appears to be a good character actor from what i've seen so far. The female interest was rather blah as she had only one type of smile and about two or three facial expressions to go along with a somewhat grating voice tone. The villain, le chiffre, was portrayed nicely and although not the super villains we've seen in the past he is as inventive as any before as seen by his torture technique which was something i've never heard of before. The stunts and set pieces were top notch throughout the film save for the last part in venice which was somewhat over the top. I missed the gadgetry of Q but they'll re-introduce him next time maybe. The music wasn't anything to remember and I feel that this film ran a little to long and could probably have cut about 5-7 minutes of it. Overall, CR was a nice addition to the bond series and i'm looking forward to the next one.

Grade - B

It was a good film but a little uneven, especially the first half, still, its much better than the last 3 bond flicks.Knowhere near as good as the connery films, or Goldeneye for that matter.

***/****

B

http://www.worldofkj.com/reviews/Schade ... 009004.php

Grade: B+

I loved it too, sure it wasn't perfect, but it got so many things right, and that scene was so well done. Green and Craig had really good chemistry, and they were both good choices for the role.

good news, its the best bond film ever.
bad news, i'm a liar.

it was alright...i thought it worked well enough as a film, but not really a bond film. just felt too much like any other action movie ever. probably because for the first 90 minutes or so of a way too long film there seemed to be no real stake, like it was just a slow, action-y flick but who cares, kinda thing. the ending was great.

i didnt like the le parkour crap in the begining though, and the poker set up...both felt like cheap attempts to make the film hip. fortunately tho, in twenty or fifty years those things wont be a real deterrent, but today it just made me kinda sad.
("because you have a seventeen point four percent chance of making a flush", or something. gd that was gay.)

but it int bad, and i think itll hold up well on dvd, which says a lot.