3 replies to this topic

[Retrovertigo]

<<SPOILERS AHEAD>>

Got to see it for the first time last night (Dec 7 Australian Opening). Absolutely fantastic! I will keep this short as im sure you have all read some excellent, extensive reviews by now.

This is my opinon:

Daniel Craig is James Bond. (on par with Sean Connery in my mind)

Casino Royale is the Bond movie I have always wanted. It is not perfect, it has flaws, but i havent enjoyed a Bond movie this much in a long long time.

The whole film had a great feel, the action scenes were energetic and brutal, the dialogue was spot on (no cheesy one-liners). Things that stand out in my mind, the morning after, include:

- Seeing Bond panic and go after Le Chiffre with a table knife whilst in Casino Royale, AWESOME!
- The Land Rover scene, that is James Bond!
- The torture scene, hearing Bond scream louldly, the jokes, the dialogue.
- The fact that the Bond theme is not used until the end. Perfect, dont use the theme until he has turned into James Bond 007.
- The interaction with M in her home. Awesome!
- The stairwell fight, damn that looked realistic!
- Seeing Bond clean himself after the stairwell fight. It looked to me like Bond was saying "I cant do this anymore, that was too much" to himself.
- Seeing Bond sit alone at the Poker table after the win, reflecting on what has just happened, fantastic!
- The fact that Bond is basically labelled a nobody in the Pre-titles sequence by a guy who is now holding an empty gun, FANTASTIC!
- The Aston Martin DBS, now that is a car!
- I had chills when Daniel delivered 'the line' at the end. I'm still speechless.

Flaws-
- I think Giancarlo Giannini is an awesome actor but he didnt grab me as much as i thought he would as Mathis. Good performance but i was hoping for more.
- It felt like some parts of the movie were cut short, no doubt to keep the running time short, 2 1/2 is a long film, but i felt it could have gone for 4 hours! but in saying that it also dragged a little near the end, weird hey? (i hope a full uncut version is released on DVD).
- Product placement, i dont mind some subtle referenes but the Sony phone, laptop and camera were too much.
- I cant think of any other flaws at the moment, im sure more will be highlighted with repeat viewings.

To actually see Bond make mistakes and learn was awesome. I loved the fact that he was primarily on his own for the whole movie (e.g. no halle berry/michelle yeoh type characters). To me it felt like you were truly watching James Bond turn into 007.

If anything I have a worried feeling right now. Why do I feel so good after seeing this movie? Surely it cant be that good? Only time will tell. I hope I feel the same way about Casino Royale in 5 years time.

Cant wait to see it a second time. I really really really hope the series continues along with this format. It has renewed my enthusiasm for Commander James Bond of the British Secret Service

[DaveBond21]

Good review.

I saw it in Sydney last night too (although I am English, not Aussie).

I agree with your points.

Another element I liked - David Arnold's music was spot-on (just wish he would use it less), and also I loved the lines during the torture scene.

Flaws:-

I thought the truck fight in Miami was a bit too long.
I thought the movie is just a bit too long in general. I prefer my Bonds to be around the 2hr 5 min mark.

But they are minor flaws.

Only other gripe was that in Chatswood last night - we had some lighting problems on the screen about a third into the movie (for about 3-4 minutes).

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Greetings from another fellow Australian. I agree, it probably should've been trimmed, but all of the scenes were so well done it's hard to chose which one should go. I'm thinking probably the construction site could've been rejigged into something more efficient and shorter. But I'm really nit picking here because overall the movie was exactly what was needed; something the polar opposite to Die Another Day.

[Vodka Martino]

Hi from Melbourne, guys. I saw it on opening day and I thought DC was brilliant as Bond. Although I don't know if I'm convinced whether he can carry off the suaveness as well as previous Bond actors. Having said that, he was better at portraying Bond's 'dark edge' than Brosnan, Moore and Lazenby ever were. So in my eyes, he made a better Bond than the three of them put together, since they never came across as threatening enough.
I can only assume that Bond's character will continue to evolve in the next film. But Daniel Craig certainly saved the franchise.
I only have some minor quibbles with the film- I thought the action scenes seemed a little long in places and David Arnold's score wasn't as memorable as it could have been. It would have been neat if he had thrown in snippets of the Bond theme throughout the film to mirror Bond's character development. But these are minor things. Overall, the film was great, but it does require a second (and maybe a third) viewing, since it seemed to have much in it that could be missed the first time 'round.
Definitely, the kind of Bond film that we have been waiting for.
Man, I gotta see it again.

Vodka Martino