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Casino Royale
Movie Review
December 13, 2006
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffery Wright,
Giancarlo Gianni, and Caterina Murino.
Backstory
I've had an affixation for James Bond ever since I was 7 years old and saw Roger
Moore doing a Bond spoof on The Muppet Show. Some of my earliest memories
of television are James Bond movie marathons that were on ITV. Back when I
was in university, TBS would have a James Bond movie marathon every November,
and I have no idea how much study time I lost to Bond movies. And, in the
late 90s, my Dad and I would always go catch the latest Pearce Brosnan as Bond
epic. I don't think there's any other film franchise that's spanned the
generations like Bond. James Bond. Going to see the new one is...it
just is.
Plot
For the first time ever, we get James Bond's origin story. Bond has
recently been promoted to 00 status, and when his first mission kind of goes
wrong, he starts doing some rouge investigating. Along the way, he manages
to piss off Le Chiffre, the banker to the terrorists. Before long, James
Bond is sent to the Casino Royale to bankrupt Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker
game. Bond is accompanied on his mission by the gorgeous Vesper Lynde, an
agent with the federal treasury who's set to keep an eye on the government money
that Bond will be using in the tournament. And before long, our hero is
thrust into the middle of the mission that will turn him into Bond...James Bond.
What I Liked
Wow. Daniel Craig does a great job of introducing us to Bond. You
can tell he's still adjusting to the 00...he's uncomfy in a tux. He's got
rough edges that need to be smoothed out. There's some amazing stunts.
And, because of the way this is set up, a lot of the Bond mythos
is...introduced. It was very geek-tastic.
What I Didn't Like
I do have to agree with several other critics in saying that it drags a bit in
the middle. And, I can't believe that co-writer Paul Haggis actually
borrowed a few moments from a little TV show he created called Due South.
Final Assessment
This is the first James Bond movie where I walked out of it going, "I can't wait
to see the next one!" This is just one great movie.
3.5
Nibs
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