007 review sans lasers
We went to see the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, last week.
We are huge Bond fans (we even have the DVD box sets, my friend) - but this Bond was a bit different from the norm.
First off, there were no laser beams.
None.
What is up with that? There is ALWAYS a laser or two.
Additionally, there were no sharks and of course, no sharks with laser beams.
This was a more realistic film and "grittier" would probably be the best description. Bond is allowed to fail, lose and bleed in this movie which is novel. I fondly recall fight scenes in earlier Bond movies where hardly a hair would be out of place following a big scuffle - this Bond has to clean himself up. Bond wore teeny swim trunks TWICE in this movie and while I didn't understand the relation to the plot, I was OK with it.
The villains were not as silly/amusing as usual (and there was no super-villain in a wheelchair!), I think they were really going for something more realistic here as well. The action sequences were consistently entertaining. I think the only disappointing thing were the Bond girls - they were beautiful but slightly boring characters.
At some point towards the end, I lost track of who all the villains were. It is much easier when there is just one mad scientist guy (in a wheelchair or in space, with laser beam sharks). This is probably not the movie's fault, I just can't concentrate for more than 2 hours at a time. Tack on the 30 minutes of commercials (*see note) and previews and we were there for 3 hours.
Overall, I was impressed with Daniel Craig as 007 and I highly recommend the movie as an enjoyable way to kill a few hours.
*Note - Why do I have to sit through 20 minutes of commercials (before the previews) when I go see a movie now? Isn't paying $40 for popcorn and a drink enough punishment?
We are huge Bond fans (we even have the DVD box sets, my friend) - but this Bond was a bit different from the norm.
First off, there were no laser beams.
None.
What is up with that? There is ALWAYS a laser or two.
Additionally, there were no sharks and of course, no sharks with laser beams.
This was a more realistic film and "grittier" would probably be the best description. Bond is allowed to fail, lose and bleed in this movie which is novel. I fondly recall fight scenes in earlier Bond movies where hardly a hair would be out of place following a big scuffle - this Bond has to clean himself up. Bond wore teeny swim trunks TWICE in this movie and while I didn't understand the relation to the plot, I was OK with it.
The villains were not as silly/amusing as usual (and there was no super-villain in a wheelchair!), I think they were really going for something more realistic here as well. The action sequences were consistently entertaining. I think the only disappointing thing were the Bond girls - they were beautiful but slightly boring characters.
At some point towards the end, I lost track of who all the villains were. It is much easier when there is just one mad scientist guy (in a wheelchair or in space, with laser beam sharks). This is probably not the movie's fault, I just can't concentrate for more than 2 hours at a time. Tack on the 30 minutes of commercials (*see note) and previews and we were there for 3 hours.
Overall, I was impressed with Daniel Craig as 007 and I highly recommend the movie as an enjoyable way to kill a few hours.
*Note - Why do I have to sit through 20 minutes of commercials (before the previews) when I go see a movie now? Isn't paying $40 for popcorn and a drink enough punishment?