8 replies to this topic

[Willowhugger]

As a note of what I did like about Casino Royale, just to hopefully quiet some worries about my opinion here.

Feel free to share what you love.

1. I enjoyed the films minimalist style. It was a way of doing a Bond movie without much need for death rays in orbit or preventing wars. The stunts were also fairly mild by comparison to previous films.

2. I believe Daniel Craig is a tremendous actor. I believe he's easily up there with Sean Connery. He looks awkward in some of the more overthetop stunts but I think that can be improved with time.

3. I loved Eva Green in her role and think she did a very good job playing the treacherous and deceitful Vesper Lynd. You can spend hours discussing what was real and what was fake in her web of lies/love.

4. Mathias was played with surprising depth for his screen time. He actually fits my idea of the character from the book.

5. This Bond seemed vulnerable and not just in the "fake broken arm" sense that Brosnan's Bond failed to achieve in TWINE. Aside from pulling out a nail from his arm, the guy actually looked like he got the crap beaten out of him on occasion.

6. Dame Judi Dench's best performance. She's ascended to become Bernard Lee's equal.

7. The film reminded me tremendously of Goldeneye and managed to hit all the right notes of that work. Bond as a dark character at odds with his superiors and himself. Betrayed at every turn by people he trusts.

8. Craig continues the Composite Bond, a deliberate choice by the Broccoli estate it seems. Elements of all the previous characters continue to be in his performance as opposed to a "new Bond."

9. Le Chiriffe's role as a villain that's no real physical threat to Bond but a mental threat and also whom lacks a horde of henchmen but only has a small group of them makes him much more interesting. Much like Fransisco Scaramanga in his own way except lacking even that man's skill.

10. Defilibrator aside, I loved the absence of gadgets and thought the realistic ones that did appear (arm chip and so on) were better handled as they are mass produced variants as opposed to customized ones.

11. Bond's use of seduction and then leaving the Lady Solange when he had the information spoke volumes about the character.

12. I wasn't terribly fond of "Bond is a dick" moments like wrecking the guys car but I nevertheless laughed out loud. The humor is mean spirited and that's the way it should be in Bond.

13. The riffs on the Bond formula were also well handled "Do I look like I give a damn.", the needlessly complex martini order, leaving Solange as mentioned above, and crashing his car almost as soon as he took off on it. Plus, Bond failed his second mission and third.

14. Bond's desire to kill Vesper after her betrayal was genuinely moving. I was honestly wondering if they'd change her suicide to Bond gunning her down in cold blood. Would the movie have been better if he did? I don't know but it was better for my wonder if he'd cross that line.

15. Daniel Craig's Bond as a former SAS operative explains a great deal about Bond's physical prowess that has been developed over the course of the movie (and never in Fleming's Bond). It also helps formally establish the character as a "blunt instrument"

16. The fact they stuck the entirety of Fleming's work in with a minimum of change was a great touch. I only regret that they removed Bond having his arm cut by Mr. White and permanently initialed by Smersh.

17. The Ugandan rebels added an excellent "third party" (with White's group becoming a fourth). Their savagery was very basic and powerful in the mafia like way they threatened Chiriffe.

18. The opening bathroom fight and the fight in the stairwell were oddly my favorite action sequences because Bond was getting as much as he was given.

19. The romance between Vesper and Bond wasn't my favorite in the series but probably one of the few that had genuine feeling on both parties. Craig made me believe he'd leave his world for this woman.

20. I liked Mr. White. Something about him was menacing in a way that even Le Chiriffe couldn't match.

[00Twelve]

1. Daniel Craig nailed James Bond in a way that I couldn't possibly anticipate. I think that's the root of the much-deserved praise he's gotten...we've had so many films and 5 actors, and I think we may have thought we'd seen it all, in a way. Craig is a fantastic, extremely talented actor, and dedicated to the job. He's also a normal guy, thankfully not believing he deserves the attention he gets.

2. Eva Green is absolutely beautiful, and very talented. The 'dinner jackets' scene displayed her beauty in a way that really had me wishing the moment could last just a little longer. And I invested in her character, which seldom happens for me in the Bond series, as I usually find myself disconnecting and analyzing acting choices. When she ends her life, it was really painful to watch.

3. Judi Dench is amazing as M in this film. I thought it was getting to be time to move on with M, but she really pulled out all the stops in doing everything she could with her material. And that material was very well done.

4. Le Chiffre was a very refreshing villain...just what he said he wasn't. Sinister. Just quietly sinister. But his position of vulnerability and his real motivation to torture Bond was a vast improvement over many Bond villains in the past.

5. The stairwell fight. Wow. Best fight I've seen since FRWL, and I'm a BIG fan of the Trevelyan fight. Very chaotic, and there were moments that actually made me gasp! Again, doesn't happen often!

6. The PTS was so refreshingly low-key, and the bathroom fight was amazing. Craig didn't have to say a word there, and we still understood that he was allowed to do things with the character that no one had been allowed to do before. And it paid off.

7. The titles were FANTASTIC!! Best I've seen in years, definitely since the days of credits being projected against scantily clad bodies. The idea of keeping some of the character development going in the titles, however small, is continuing to pay off.

8. Felix was very good! I didn't know what to expect at first, even knowing how good an actor Wright is. I mean, this is the rebirth of Felix! So I really hope he comes back, and, well, read the signature!

9. The tense knife struggle between Bond and Demitrios in the museum. Right in amongst everyone. That may have been one of my very favorite moments in the film. Riddled with tension, and not knowing Craig's Bond, I had no idea whether he'd get seriously hurt in that struggle.

10. Mathis was a good character, and I don't know what to think about his innocence. I hope they pull a "Tony Almeida" and keep him on Bond's side, though things may be tense with them for awhile.

11. The dirty martini. Big bravo!! So believably threatening...a simple poisoning, and Bond's first reaction is to do what we'd never expect Bond to do...the same thing a normal person would do! He just induces vomiting, and we see it happen through glossy "eyes." Then the defibrilator scene actually had me on the edge of my seat! The impressive moments never cease!

12. The "free running" chase. Tense, amazing, and keeping Bond on the cutting edge of action sequences.

13. The mongoose-cobra fight shortly before. What a subtle, smart piece of atmosphere to set the mood!

14. The script. But instead of validating it by comparing it to another film's script, I'll just say it is a wonderful script in its own right, independent of any other Bond film and the canon as a whole. And that may be the first time I've said that about a Bond film. I do not miss the throwaway post-mortem lines at all.

15. The shower scene. Nearly made me cry, it was so tender, sweet, and human. The music was perfect.

16. The music! Great work by Arnold, who edges out his TND score with this one, due to good work on the title song and incorporating it into the action. Vesper was one of the most beautiful themes I've heard in the entire series. And the idea to hold off on the full theme until the end is a very wise choice, and the hints really whetted my appetite.

17. The locales. I've wanted to see Lake Como in a Bond film for so long...finally!! And Venice was shot so very well, not to mention Nassau and Montenegro.

18. The torture scene. So harrowing and grotesque, but so well done by Craig with the itch bit. That was the coolest mixture of hilarity and horror I've seen yet.

19. Campbell's direction, along with Baird's editing and the cinematography. A lot was added through the more "auteur" ideas that Campbell and the crew brought to this film. Love the dirty martini scene and PTS for this!

20. The last moment! Craig takes absolute, undeniable authority of the role of James Bond as he kneecaps White and pauses to introduce himself, automatic in his hand. I cannot wait for Bond 22.

to Casino Royale, and to Daniel Craig.

[HildebrandRarity]

I love many moment's in Casino Royale and having seen it 6 times, my top 20 are:

1. "I know where you keep your gun"

2. The look on Craig's face in grainy black and white after he's 'drowned' Dryden's Pakistani contact.

3. The orchestral intro to YKMN as the words "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions Ltd. Presents" appears on the background of blood red.

4. YKMN...a favourite by now.

5. Kleinman's titles with Daniel Craig's James Bond with his walther/silencer in it all the way.

6. Sabastien Fourcan's free running and the construction chase especially to Arnold's awsome 'African Rundown' (from about 4:00 to 5:10 as on the soundtrack)

7. Dench and Craig at M's home.

8. Arnold's music at Arrival At Nassau and Drive To Ocean Club.

9. The vacation feel of the Bahamas scenes especially when Bond arrives in the evening to play cards and the greetings of "good evening"...reminds me of my childhood, of Thunderball and of holidays in the tropics and Nassau specifically.

10. The seamless inclusion of jumbo jets taking off and landing in the background during the spell-binding and taut MIA tanker chase sequence.

11. "Quite the body count you're stacking up" and Bond not having the problem of being "emotionally detatched"

12. Arnold's 'I'm the money' and the polished dialogue of Bond Meets Vesper.

13. The cinematography of Hotel Splendide and 'Aston Montenegro' and, later, of Sailing Into Venice.

14. The beautiful and fresh Eva Green and Daniel Craig's tux moment in the outstanding 'Dinner Jackets' scene w Arnold's perfect musical cue.

15. Bond arriving at Casino Royale and his walk into the salon privee' as if he owned the place.

16. Le Chiffre's tears of blood in keeping with the Fleming/Eon tradition of villian's bizarre physical abnormalities.

17. Shower moment with Arnold's 'Vesper' cue.

18. Craig and Mikklesen pulling off the torture sequence.

19. The fast edit cuts as Bond searches for Vesper in the St Marks thronge (reminding me of Connery trying to get away from Volpe's men at the Junkanoo and Lazenby being hunted by Blofeld's men/Bunt at the skating rink)

20. Mr White getting knee-capped and crawling helplessly as we see the hero of the hour walk up the steps in polished shoes, impecable three piece suite and tie and a highly phallic sub machine gun to the opening chords of the James Bond Theme just as it's orgasmically about to be ejaculated in it's full glory.

Finally...You have to hand it to Barbara Broccoli for choosing Daniel Craig and to Daniel Craig for withstanding the absolutely attrocious bashing he took over the winter and spring to deliver what we never thought possible, i.e. a damn fine yet faithful adaptation of a Fleming original harkening back to a bygone era of movie making.

Edited by HildebrandRarity, 16 December 2006 - 04:12 AM.

[MsGreen]

1. Casino Royale - my favorite Bond movie
2. Eva Green - Wow! I'm taken with her
3. Daniel Craig - good casting
4. "dinner jacket"
5. Train scene with Vesper and Bond
6. "shower scene"
7. Venice beautiful scene
8. You know my name opening credit
9. Mathis - funny guy
10. Vesper walking in the Casino with the purple dress
11. Vesper death
12. Vesper's PDA phone
13. Bond's Phone
14. Aston Martin
15. M - Judi Dench - always the best
16. Vesper Martini scene
17. Bond torture
18. Barbara Broccoli confidence with the casts
19. Bond, James Bond
20. The overall - got to be my favorite Bond movie

[Emma]

I don

[DaveBond21]

14. Bond's desire to kill Vesper after her betrayal was genuinely moving. I was honestly wondering if they'd change her suicide to Bond gunning her down in cold blood. Would the movie have been better if he did? I don't know but it was better for my wonder if he'd cross that line.

Yes, it works well, but also his reaction to seeing her dead is telling too. He vows mentally to save the next woman he uses for information. He hates seeing women die. But of course, he is never able to do it.

[Loomis]

You have to hand it to Barbara Broccoli for choosing Daniel Craig and to Daniel Craig for withstanding the absolutely attrocious bashing he took over the winter and spring to deliver what we never thought possible, i.e. a damn fine yet faithful adaptation of a Fleming original harkening back to a bygone era of movie making.

Agreed. I've said it before and, by Jove, I'll say it again: CASINO ROYALE is a virtually perfect blend of the fresh and the classic, of the best of Fleming and the best of Eon.

No other Bond outing (not even ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) comes close to its artistic or emotional impact, or lingers in the mind so much.

There have been many Bond movies, but this is the first Bond film. And the sheer scale of the pwnership it's currently exerting over the haters is a joy to behold.

Anyway, 20 things I loved about the darn thing (great thread idea, Willowhugger):

1. Craig as Bond. Nice echoes here and there of both Connery and Dalton, but the bloke the Craigmeister brings to life most is, of course, Ian Fellmign's classic creation. For fans of the literary character, this take on him is by far the best thing to have happened in any medium in the world of 007 since the late 1960s. An astounding performance, giving us the most human and most interesting Bond ever seen onscreen, which is certainly not to say that he isn't also as cool, as charismatic, as dangerous, and so on, as you could wish for (while also coming across as an underdog, strangely enough). Any attempt by another actor to follow this guy would be sheer folly.

2. Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. A cool (in both senses), menacing villain you're almost rooting for at times. Excellent, understated performance of a role that could so easily have been the hammiest thing since sliced bread.

3. All other roles and actors. All the characters seem to have lives outside the film, and I wanted to see more of most of them, from Obanno and Solange, to Valenka and even that amusing German banker (his name escapes me). I certainly didn't feel the same way about, say, Boris, Tanner, Wade and that cringeworthy headshrinker in GOLDENEYE (in fact, I wanted most of 'em to push off ASAP), so kudos to all involved for the memorable and interesting lineup of CR. Terrific performances of even "minor" roles.

4. "You Know My Name". Took a while to grow on me, but I consider it a solid gold triumph, both aggressively "new" and suitably "classic", just like the film.

5. Danny Kleinman's opening credits sequence. Simply stunning. Witty and very cool.

6. Phil Meheux's cinematography. Always stylish, but never flashy. This is quite possibly the best-shot Bond flick ever.

7. David Arnold's score. I've never been a fan of his Bond work, but (along with most everyone else coming to CR from having worked on other 007 outings) Arnold makes a mockery of his earlier form with a classy, exciting effort that in places is worthy of the master John Barry himself.

8. The action scenes. The "African rundown" blows away everything else, but CR's thrills and spills are up there with, well, you name it.

9. Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. He doesn't have a lot of screentime. What's new? He doesn't have a lot to say. What's new? He makes a great deal of impact nonetheless and for once makes you look forward to the character's next appearance. This is new.

10. The poker game. I'm, like, so not interested in cards (and didn't understand a bloody thing, frankly), but found this a riveting, atmospheric stretch of the film. Pure Fllemmmming.

11. The partial return of that terrific old-time "travelogue" feel.

12. - 20. Heck, everything else.

Some very minor gripes, in the interest of balance:

- Dryden a little too OTT and hammy.

- Bond and M discussing "cell phones".

- YKMN not the original "rock" version, which I much prefer.

- Bond being a bit too much of a law unto himself chez MI6, apparently stealing every password that isn't nailed down, breaking into M's home, etc.

- Curiously short space of time that seems to elapse between Bond's torture and his returning to full health with all his *ahem* faculties back to normal.

But the flaws of CR are few and minor. A masterwork, and the best film Eon has ever given us.

[MattofSteel]

I don't know if I have the time/energy to name 20. But virtually everything, every moment of the film, I love and thought was nailed.

I'll save time: My least favourite (and I still liked it) section of the movie was Miami International, post-arrival and pre-chase. It is a VERY tense situation, but in terms of location and elements, the whole "Bond following Carlos" just doesn't have the re-watchability the rest of the film does. LOVED it the first time, probably because I knew these 2 gents were about to throw down. On one subsequent watching, that's where I took a bathroom break.

I think this scene in its entirety speaks volumes about the modern Bond. It is NEEDED to generate that wonderful blend of being both "fresh" and "classic" that we know. It feels very modern, very fresh, very today - and the film needed it.

It's just a very, very minor personal quibble of mine. And here's the reason: The rest of the film was so damn good, so damn perfect, so damn TIMELESS AND CLASSIC, that that one minor section just happens to stick out. That's all. That's why it feels slightly out of place to me.

As an amateur screenwriter, I like to think I know a thing or two about structure, and the usage of action elements. The Venetian house collapsing was, admittedly, unnecessary. But this is a Bond film, and I enjoyed it, so I'll take it.

There are 2 instances in the history of Bond where I have been peeved at the "pace" - one was the destruction of the Volcano base in YOLT, and the other was the sinking house. I just can only take so many (very few) shots of rubble falling before I get bored.

To the filmmakers' credit, when the sequence started I said to myself, 'Great, a minute and a half of usual destructive fare'. And it was nowhere NEAR that long. It was actually very fast, and beautifully photographed (RE: externals) by Mr. Meheux. Chris Corbould's work shines through indoors, as well. It's not so much a fault against the film, as much as the fact that I personally don't enjoy sitting through those sequences. I quickly want back to the story.

Once again, an excellent sequence that I enjoyed thoroughly. It's just based on a pre-standing personal opinion of mine. My mind changes daily. At the time I loved it, then I liked it, today I enjoyed it. It will change. Overall, I wouldn't have taken it out or changed it if I was in control, because I dont' know what you would replace it with to generate the same emotional intensity required for the film's final scenes.

I loved the "mushy" sequence so many people seem to despise. It was nice to see a movie taking it's time again, and there is as much character development in those 3 scenes as there is in the entire Roger Moore run as James Bond. The scene with Bond and Vesper on the beach will stand as one of my franchise favourites, because it so strongly, for me, evoked those classic feelings of nostalgia generated by the Connery films, with 007 and a beautiful lady on a sunny beach in the late afternoon somewhere, in the dying part of summer. One of my favourite places to be in the world, and the film took me back there.

And this is coming from someone born in 1985. Weird, huh? That 60s nostalgia floats my boat that much? It's just something about that feeling, sunny day, beach, late summer. Reminds me of childhood, maybe. Goldfinger and Thunderball do it for me the most, and now CR proudly joins that list.

I don't think the opening was hammy. You can always critique, or improve, anything in a movie. Heck, Gone with the Wind could be improved in SOME way.

Given the script and concept, the opening was perfect.

Perfect.

To me, this is not open for debate. The opening could not have been done better, in terms of all aspects. Scripting, shooting, acting. I loved how it was just a touch OTT. It felt SO old school, so perfect, and contributed exactly to the experience I was hoping for.

I also didn't know how I would respond to the new gunbarrel. Not only is it sinfully iconic, but it also stands as one of my new favourite moments in the series. I wont' ever forget the feeling of my first showing of CR on opening night, when I saw the "setup shot". (Craig bending to pick up the weapon, framed slightly to the side, ready to step). And the actual shot itself was so brilliantly performed, and scored (opening of YKMN sounds better than the actual Bond theme might have), that I completely missed the fact that there was a new gunbarrel itself!

And when I actually noticed it later, I have to say, it looks pretty sweet.

Wow. Easily my longet post ever.

Edited by MattofSteel, 18 December 2006 - 06:14 PM.

[bonds_walther]

Top 20 Casino Royale Moments

(In no particular order...)

1. Daniel Craig as James Bond. I was a fan of Craig's before he got the role (having seen him in Archangel and Layer Cake) and thought he gave one of the best performances of the entire series in Casino Royale.

2. Eva Green. She's so hot it hurts!

3. Caterina Murino. See above.

4. Mikklesen as Le Chiffre. I liked the way he portrayed the character. He only cared about one person - himself.

5. The Madagascar scene.

6. The finale in the sinking house.

7. Judi Dench as 'M'. We got to see a bit more of this character in Casino Royale. Dench is such a fine actress and her portrayal was excellent.

8. The Aston Martin DB5.

9. The Aston MArtin DBS.

10. The 'secret compartment' in the aforementioned car. It's such a shame that we didn't get to see it used in any action sequences i.e. Bond pulling out the gun before some kind of shoot-out.

11. The train scene. Classic (apart from the cringe-worthy product placement).

12. The pre-credits sequence. I wonder who thought up the idea of shooting this in black and white? Genius, whoever they are. It shows how gritty the film is going to be right from the off.

13. Title sequence. It's one of the best in my opinion, probably becuase it's so original in terms of Bond.

14. You Know My Name. I'm a fan of guitar driven music, so was thrilled when Cornell was announced as the artist for the song. What a song it is, too! I can understand why some don't like it, but it's my favourite of all the Bond themes.

15. Eva Green's figure hugging purple dress. See number 2.

16. The end of the film. No, no! I don't mean it like that! I'm talking about the final scene of the film, where Craig delivers 'the line'. Classic - one of the best deliveries of any of the films. I think it is right up there with Connery's introduction in Dr. No.

17. Mathis. An interesting character. Having read the book, I had made assumptions that he would be the same character in the film. It came as a surprise to me when he was suddenly named as Le Chiffre's 'friend'. It's clear that question marks still hang over this character, so it'll be interesting to see how this develops across Bond 22 and 23.

18. The poker game at Casino Royale.

19. The 'parking valet' scene. That bit in the film is so ing cool!

20. Bond vs Dimitrios at the poker table.

There you go, my top 20 Casino Royale moments (all off the top of my head).

I want to go and see it again now!



EDIT: Crikey! I've read through my post and realised that there are probably another 20 moments that I could add to this list. I've missed off so much!
- The development of the Bond/Vesper relationship.
- Bond's realisation that Vesper has betrayed him.
- The scene in M's house between her and Bond.
- The stairwell fight.
- Bond/Vesper in the shower.
- The DBS car crash.
- Bond ordering his Vesper for the first time.
....the list could go on!