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Would you ditch Venice for Royale?


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#1 DamnCoffee

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 01:46 AM

Now, after finally reading the novel, I can't help but think how effective a more low key climax would be, compared to the massive Venice action sequence. Don't get me wrong, I love Casino Royale and I felt it was a very strong film, but the Venice stuff wasn't as... strong as the rest of the film. It kinda felt that they needed to throw another big action sequence in there just to stop the audience from getting restless.

What would you say if the producers decided to ditch Venice completely, and have Bond and Vesper head to the small hotel, in France? Well Montenegro as it is in the film? Vesper begins to feel insecure and kills herself, and explaining in a letter that she betrayed Bond and that she couldn't live the guilt. I guess they could still do something with the Gettler character. Have him show up at breakfast one morning, and Bond, seeing that Vesper is uncomfortable in his presence, does a little surveillance work. Follows him around a bit, fights off a few of his thugs, and when he realises that it's Vesper, rushes back to find her dead.

Ever since I read the book, I can't help but think that it could've been more in line with the rest of the film. Low Key, etc.

#2 Captain Tightpants

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 02:01 AM

It wouldn't work, I'm afraid. It would just slow the pace of the film right down - it would feel like nothing happened in the last half-hour. I know the action sequence at the end is unpopular for a variety of reasons, but I've noticed that a lot of people forget that EON are making films for a wide audience, not exclusively for Bond fans. There is a certain expectation in Bond films that there are action sequences, and I think they're quite well-placed in CASINO ROYALE, but I also think that having the stairwell fight scene be the last true action sequence would simply drive audiences away. The end of the film would feel like it dragged out unnecessarily.

#3 Chief of SIS

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 04:12 AM

I think the overall chaos in the Venice scene provides a strong internal narrative that you lose in translation from text to film. It could be a hard read to fully understand Bond's internal thought process if the end of the film was slower. The chaos gives him a chance to vent and be vocal about problems. The 'Allow me' line sticks out in particular.

#4 tdalton

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 04:46 AM

Absolutely agreed MHarkin, although I'd say that the entire film needed to be significantly more low-key, not just the Venice sequence at the end. The part of the film that actually takes place at the casino is what the rest of the film should have resembled, which is a decidedly low-key affair puncuated with a couple of tension-filled and rather brutal sequence (stairwell fight and torture sequence) instead of ridiculously over-the-top action sequences that feel held over from the Brosnan Era.

#5 Captain Tightpants

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 06:54 AM

I think the overall chaos in the Venice scene provides a strong internal narrative that you lose in translation from text to film. It could be a hard read to fully understand Bond's internal thought process if the end of the film was slower. The chaos gives him a chance to vent and be vocal about problems. The 'Allow me' line sticks out in particular.

The entire sequence is also very well done - all the internal stuff was done with practical effects; I remember Chris Corbould talking about the challenges of making the Aston Martin barrel roll work, and then having Martin Campbell and/or the producers turn around and say "Great! Now, build us a pneumatic rig the size of a house!", which he had never done before. Given that he worked on INCEPTION, I think his work on CASINO ROYALE taught him a lot about building the giant pneumatic rig for the zero-gravity corridor fight scene; that rig was essentially the same concept as the sinking house, but with mroe articulated movements.