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Casino Royale Reviews
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Here is our community member review page for Casino Royale. If you've seen the movie and have an opinion, click the EasyEdit button and go to work... you might even meet someone that agrees with you. Please visit our Sample Review page if you need some help getting started. If you're interested in reviewing other Bond films, visit our James Bond Movie Review homepage for a list of other film reviews.
Please reserve this page only for reviews, not discussions. If you'd like to go back and forth with someone, you can do it in our Casino Royale threads.
 | Breaking Bonds Is it that good? Short answer: yes. Is he that good? Yeah. He's the best thing about it. There are other good things as well, but let's look at Bond 6.0. Not conventionally handsome, not the Arrow-shirt version of Bond, Craig has a multi-planed face that's great to watch whether it's jammed up against a shattered bathroom mirror considering just how much pressure it's going to take to strangle an assailant or, half-a-movie later in another bathroom mirror, clearly satisfied with himself in a newly-tailored tuxedo jacket. His acting choices are subtle, nicely measured. His atypical look is just one of the many breaks from the past in a series that has not only embraced cliches, but luxuriated in them, and would even occasionally ham-string a promising entry to accommodate them (quite opposite from the early intentions of the producing team, which was to go against the grain of conventional thrillers--something not too far afield from Fleming's literary intentions--and surpass them, and in that regard, "Casino Royale" is the first film since "Goldfinger" to actually improve on its source.) The films are, after all, about Bond, so you'd better have somebody interesting in the lead, and Craig's Bond, his face becoming criss-crossed with scars as the movie progresses, makes you care just how much of a toll the mission is taking on him, both physically and psychologically. When was the last time anybody gave a damn about James Bond's soul in the movies? In this "reboot" the cliches are dusted off, their origins shown and exposed for the good ideas they once were. The stunts and longish action sequences are still there, but they're used, at their best, to expose character. There are gadgets, but nothing you couldn't find in catalogs this Christmas (technology has long since caught up to Bond with cell-phones, GPS tracking and personal defibrillators). "The James Bond Theme" is merely hinted at in the body of the film and in the "Secret Agent Man"-ish title song (growled by home-boy Chris Cornell), saved for the end with a fully formed (for good and ill) Bond. As good as Craig is, he's matched by his co-stars. Mads Mikkelson as LeChiffre has a nice, oily quality to him, and certainly projects the most danger to Bond since Robert Shaw's Red Grant (in "From Russia With Love"), The only cast member retained (so far) from the Brosnan films is Dame Judi Dench, whose "M" is finally given the authoritative role over Bond that Bernard Lee once had, rather than seeming like Bond's subordinate. And the Bond-"girls?" Well, there is Ivana Milicevic, who's there mostly for decoration. But Caterina Murino certainly can act, and brings a nice world-weary resignation to the role as a terrorist's wife out for some revenge. But the revelation here is Eva Green, who's Vesper Lynd manages to flesh out the cypher that Fleming created. A mystery in the book, Green conveys a genuine human being, and her scenes with Craig are some of the best written exchanges (and are cracklingly well delivered) in the series, and includes one heart-breaker of a scene, after a brutal fight in a stairwell. It's so moving and so well-done that it's surprising to see it in a Bond movie. And that's the thing: there has always been a great deal of disparity between what constitutes a "Good James Bond Movie" and a genuinely "Good Movie." And this is a "Good Movie"...which happens to have James Bond in it...that can stand as a fine drama, AS WELL AS holding its own in the adventure/action aisle. I didn't cringe at a performance or roll my eyes at a joke once and if there was one thing I was dissatisfied with it might be the small amount of screen-time given to Jeffrey Wright...and maybe tweak the ending a bit. Credit the writers (regulars Purvis and Wade and the ubiquitous Paul Haggis), the director (Martin Campbell, who did "Edge of Darkness") and super-editor Stuart Baird. This is going to be a fun one to watch slowed down on DVD. Oh, and "Cubby" Broccoli's kids, who followed up one of the most profitable movies in the series (the loud, obnoxious video-gamer "Die Another Day") with this. Talk about gambling.... "Casino Royale"(2006) is a Full-Price Ticket to be chased by a large tumbler of Scotch and a warm, comforting shower. |
| 007FANATIC | First, I have to say that this is my personal favorite Bond film, and is one of the best, if not the best Bond film. Daniel Craig as Bond is just pure awesome. He plays Bond with a harder edge, and much more brutal, but also vulnerable, and human. Eva Green plays an excellent Vesper Lynd, smart, beautiful, and tragic. Mads Millelsen is also excellent as Le Chiffre, he plays him brilliantly and has some very good scenes. The plot is classic, the poker game is tense, the dialog sparkling, and the torture scene is very well done. The movie adds much to the book, and the fights are realistic, brutal and exciting. This movie is a classic, and a must see. -I love EVERYTHING Bond, but I still have favorites. 007FANATIC |
 Moore4ever | Personally, one of the best Bond films in a long time. Props to EON for picking a superb choice that of Daniel Craig. Craig makes you feel that Bond is a real person and you understand where he is coming from. Craig shows he is up to the challenge of taking on the role of 007; to which he passed with flying colors. Judi Dench as M makes the mode set well. Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) makes a great baddie. Eva Green as Bond's true love Vesper is a terrific hit, full of beauty and romance and tragedy. This movie will become a classic in the 007 series in no time. It just might rival Goldfinger as the best one in the series? Craig proves that he IS Bond and let us hope he sticks around for a few more outing! A terrific movie for all 007 fans. |
moore4ever |
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Anonymous | Not a James Bond Character. | 17 | Aug 3 2009, 10:53 PM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: Mar 6 2009, 10:34 PM EST
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The actor that plays James Bond now is so far from what James Bond looks like, and should be. The actor now looks like a street thug. Sorry, I dont mean to hurt feelings, Iam just being critical of the different looking actor they picked.
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| GrapplingHookGun | Casino Royale Review | 10 | Feb 12 2009, 4:10 PM EST by LORDJIM | ||
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Thread started: Feb 9 2009, 7:32 PM EST
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It is the first movie of one of the worst 007 actors. It has too many really stupid and unrealistic battles. It has the worst gunbarrel sequence. The james bond theme is only in the credits. So many problems that reflect the terrible Brosnan Era.
Grade: D |
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