7.04.2007

Let's Enjoying Movies: A New Bond

Welcome to the first ever edition of "Let's Enjoying Movies," my semi-regular reviews of movies I've seen recently. For a brief explanation of my rating system, please see an earlier post. This time I've been thinking about Daniel Craig as the new James Bond in Casino Royale.

Casino Royale is an excellent change of pace from previous Bond films. I think I only saw one of Pierce Brosnan's outings, because I felt the Bond franchise was growing very stale and boring. As far as Daniel Craig is concerned, who cares if he's blond if he can pull off the role? True, he may not be the best-looking Bond (my favorite was always Connery), but he's certainly a tough son of a bitch in this film. Simply put, the new Bond is brutal. It feels like there's less over-the-top action and set pieces, but Bond dishes out and receives much more physical punishment than I could ever imagine.

The best thing about the new Bond is the mistakes he makes. He's not perfect by any means. This fits in perfectly with Casino Royale as Bond's origin story. We see his errors, and he even falls in love (which has only happened in one other Bond film to date). Best of all, this film shows Bond's transformation from regular MI6 agent to the methodical, heartless, let's-finish-the-job-no-matter-what 007 agent we've known for so many years. As implied by the title, a large portion of the film centers around a high stakes poker game, which surprisingly has some of the most tense moments in the entire film. The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the love story. I think the idea of Bond falling in love is fantastic. But I didn't really believe it in this case, and felt those scenes fell a little flat.

Overall, this is an intense, kick-ass movie. I hope they can keep the rest of Craig's time as Bond as fresh and exciting as this one.

Verdict: BUY!

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