Casino Royale
The best Bond since Dr. No, and possibly the best ever. Gone are most of the wizzy gadgets and a lot of attention paid to the story. The story was remarkably faithful to the book, the most faithful since Dr. No. It was updated in some non-material ways: Le Chiffre was banker to terrorists in the movie, but banker to SMERSH in the book, but as the cold war is over it’s an acceptable change. I didn’t particularly care for changing the card game to Texas Hold ‘em from Baccarat. I mean, Baccarat is Bond’s game. But Hold ‘em is a far more exciting game to watch, if not to participate in. And I don’t remember where the game took place in the book (it’s been a couple of years since I’ve read it). I mean, obviously, it took place in Casino Royale, but for some reason I remember it being in Monte Carlo, not Montenegro. But either way, it works.
This is excellent on so many levels. The relationship between Bond and M is right on target. Daniel Craig’s portrayal is perfect and while he doesn’t look like Hoagy Carmichael (as Fleming describes), he’s easily the best looking Bond ever. Moneypenny is missing, but I also don’t recall if she showed up in the first book or not, and she’s such a minor character in the books that her presence isn’t missed. Also right on target is Bond’s ruthlessness. Only in the Dr. No (and to a lesser extent From Russia with Love) film did Bond just off someone without being fired on first. The fight scenes were good on the whole. I liked the Parkour in the beginning chase. The only thing I really didn’t care for was the final building collapse in Venice. Compared with the rest of the film, it was overdone. And a double-plus good on ya for getting Bond’s drink right! (No, it’s not a vodka martini either shaken or stirred.)
Excellent, I’m ready for the next one. I wonder if they could redo the films that have already been done and get rid of the cartoon aspects. I would love to see a faithful treatment of Moonraker.
