Sunday, November 19, 2006

The name is Bond, James Bond

Oh-Kay ... so what does make Bond, well Bond.

Is it the coveted "00" status.
Im sure that every reader of this blog /review would want a licence to kill at least at one point in their lives ... I know I do .. at least twice a day !

Is it the livestyle .. fast cars ... faster girls

Or is it that in this insane world ... its actually that whoring cad of a man who makes the most sense !

So does Daniel Craig fit the bill ... does Casino Royale merit its place as a quality Bond movie?

Casino Royale gave me what I missed in the last couple of Bond Movies ... Blood and Gore .. lots of it. The wanton disregard of human life .. not just by the villian ... but also by Bond himself .... that was missing in the previous marketing gimmicks by Pierce Brosnan was back.

Thank You.

Also missing was the banter between Bond and his girl ... The hunting owls stupidity in Die Another Day was pathetic ! Compare that with "I will be keeping my eye on our Governments money and off your perfectly formed ass" or
"You are not my type. " - "Smart?"
"Single!"


Ladies and Gentlemen ... the winner .. Casino Royale !!

Aaah ... but here's the catch ... Casino Royale stops short of the knockout; winning instead on points in round 16 !!!

Agreed.. the original bond novel did not place too much emphasis on the Bond Car ... but for an audience grown up on ejector seats, oil slicks and anti tank missiles all in a dimunitive Aston Martin / BMW / Audi ...
The Aston Martin DBS featured in Casino Royale deserved a better coverage than a 5 second chase and a hidden compartment for 007s gun and a medical kit !
And what a tragic end !!!
Disapointing ... really !!!

Post 9/11, security at american airports is hardly the types where a man could lie about dead on a runway and not be detected. Also, ATC anywhere is not as stupid as to allow a passenger jet to land on a runway where a full blown chase is on !!!

The Matrix like opening sequence where "Rules can be bent ... some can be broken" gravity defying stunts.

Cant comment on the sex scenes ... Indian Censor board ensured that !! heard they were raunchy ... so CR scores there.

Overall , Casino Royale is an improvement on the previous Bond Movies ... but not in the same leauge as Goldfinger / Dr. No or even GoldenEye.

Time for rating based on typical Bond parameters:

On a scale of 0-5

Story Line: 3
Slickness: 3.5
Bond Girl: 4
Bond Car: 2 What is this world comming to !!
Gadgets: 0 ... what gadgets !!
Bond Vamp: 1 (she had a shorter role than the car !!!)
Bond Villian: 4
Locations: 4.5
Action sequences: 4.75
Screenplay: 4.5 M says: "I would ask you if you could remain emotionally detached, but that's not your problem, is it, Bond?"

Now for the man himself ... Bond
Let me be frank ... I was among the first to say "A Blonde Bond !!????!"

and Im happy to eat my own words ...
Daniel Craig left me impressed ... alright ... he is still blonde ... but he brings a certain ruthlessness to the screen that was missing earlier. Dare I say even in Sean Connerry !!!
Hell he even left my wife impressed with that tight blue speedo !!!!

Overall a good entertaining movie ... and I could watch it again. and maybe again :)

1 Comments:

Blogger vinay.narasimhan said...

Spot on dude! nice review! CR was good but somehow I prefer the other 'greatest hits' of Bond movies - Goldeneye. Its interesting to note though that both flicks were directed by the same guy Martin Campbell.

1:51 PM, November 20, 2006  

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