Bond, James Bond

[John Dailey]

Robert:

~ Yes, I understand that this is a 'Re-Imagining' (to use Burton's term) of the old cinema-series. However, that that was 'not' a 'series', I must quibble with (especially, since this is the start of a new one). It was not an ongoing story-'saga' a la StarWars, true, but, movie 'C' did occasionally reference movie 'B', nm that, like TV, the same main characters continued into consecutively different stories.

~ As I hope I stressed, though, I'm not against the movie (especially given your 'review') per se; I'm sure it's quite well done, and do plan on catching it...maybe even in the the-a-tor. But the hype, and the 'handling' re the past ones: a turn-off Minus.

LLAP

J:D

P.S: Still, I'll miss 'Q'...and even his new mentee played by Cleese. The character WAS a different 'foil' for Bond.

Edited December 20, 2006 by John Dailey

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Kat and I just saw this as our first movie together.

Wow!

Now that was getting it right at the right moment.

This new Bond is everything Robert B said is was and more. We both loved it.

Michael

[Ross Barlow]

It appears that *Casino Royale* (2006) has just been (legally) released on DVD, according to the IMDb. Here in Indochina, it’s been out for quite a while.

If you missed it in the theaters, now you have absolutely *no excuse* for missing this excellent movie. It may be my favorite Bond flick ever, rivaled only by *Dr. No* (1962). Daniel Craig is smart, tough and dangerous; the women are gorgeous; the action is furious; the locales are exotic; and the plot is romantic. And Judi Dench is becoming my favorite Bond Girl.

-Ross Barlow.

[Bidinotto]

I'm with you, Ross.

I reviewed the film for The New Individualist; you can read the review here.

[zantonavitch]

I agree with Robert B' that it's a real pleasure to see a realistic, macho, tough-guy, sometimes down-and-dirty-and-bloody version of James Bond. This is a terrific reinvention.

Still, I kind of hate the "movieola" way every fight is evenly-matched and every problem or tricky situation is of equal difficulty. I'd like to see a 007 who devastates single or weak opponents, but then has to think his way out of situations where he's overmatched or even physically loses. It gets numbing when every battle is virtually a tie. How about occasional scenes where James crushes evil with ease -- scenes of sheer exhileration and pleasure?

[John Dailey]

~ I really find it difficult to understand how so many can so easily accept the Producer's/Screenplay-Writers's purposefully ignoring the cinematic past history they themselves established (can one say 'stolen-reputation'[?]...certainly 'borrowed'[!]) of 'the Bond films.'

~ O-t-one-h, those earlier films are all to be considered as irrelevent, ergo, forgotten about (necessarily including Connery). Yet, o-t-other...why else would this one be considered interesting, if it's supposedly to be considered ONLY 'on its own'? --- Like, we're supposed to ask ourselves: "Who IS this 'Bond, James B(l)onde?'" R-i-g-h-t.

~ I find all rationales as...Blahhh!

LLAP

J:D

Edited March 22, 2007 by John Dailey

[Robert Jones]

Many reviewers have, correctly, described this new 007 film as a "reboot" of the franchise. The writers, producers, director, and actor have boldly declared, in essence: "Forget the James Bond in every previous film. THIS is the real James Bond."

In fiction, you create imaginary worlds and people. The "James Bond" they've re-created here is a new character, sharply departing from previous visions, while more closely resembling the one that Ian Fleming originally conceived.

So, yes: forget about "Q" and "Moneypenny" and the history of "M" and all the other trappings of the film "series." It was never actually a "series" to begin with, given the many 007s and their vast differences. But this one has no connection to those other films.

This is a new film, and the beginning of a new series. It is sui generis, its own thing entirely. Don't try to connect it to the others; you have to evaluate it on its own terms. Rather than theorize endlessly about it, John, just go see it -- and with an open mind, judging it within its own fictional boundaries of character and plot.

Hey Robert, well I'm going to weigh in on this one as your movie reviewer:

Firstly, I thought Daniel Craig DID reinvent the role, and it DOES have a prequel feel, and DOES succeed at erasing Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby and Remington Steele from memory....

But NOT Sean Connery! All I could think while watching "Casino Royale" was "Jesus, I wish Sean Connery had these writers around when HE was making Bond films!"

I agree with you mostly about Moneypenny and Q, but I think Judi Dench as M was all wrong! Notice she's got both the "woman with something to prove" AND the Napoleon complex going on, totally undermining her authority as Bond's boss.

Bernard Lee was the ultimate M, because he had that quiet but firm unflappable British reserve which Bond doesn't quite have yet, because of youth and inexperience. Judi Dench is always walking around starting her sentences with "Bond, what the hell did you just do?" to show she's a "tough gal." I think her "reinvention" of M was done by making her the butt of a running visual short joke as she harumphs about in her pants suit.

For example, I cannot imagine EITHER Connery or Craig hacking into Bernard Lee's computer account access files! Bernard Lee's M would've had Bond on the carpet for that, giving him a well-deserved dressing down.

Now, onto this being Bond as Ian Fleming imagined him. True, but rather, this is how I saw Bond reading the books, especially short stories like "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights" in which Bond is more of an assassin than covert agent.

However, from what I know about Ian Fleming, his own first choice for playing Bond was David Niven (!) and second was Cary Grant (unavailable, but at least plausible). Thank God Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman went with the more rugged, yet still urbane Scotsman Sean Connery.

Daniel Craig is Sean Connery with weight training. But there will never be another Sean Connery. Even if Daniel Craig redifined James Bond, Sean Connery set the mold, and I think twenty years from now people will be making Bond comparisons to both Connery and Craig.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Robert Jones

[John Dailey]

~ Finally caught the DVD. Yes, Craig's expectably good, B(l)onde or not, but, I think, more accurately, it's the screen-writers who fundamentally were; Craig 'filled the bill' which was now as good as the 1st Connery one, if not better re his 'type' of character. The 'fights-choreography' was definitely an overall improvement on the (now-to-be-ignored) 'series'.

~ It was interestingly convoluted re who's agenda is what and which of whose is criss-crossing with whose else's? Also, that it was about Bond 'learning his chops,' learning the final necessary lesson: "Trust NO ONE." (How paranoid-oriented can one get, while making a career through using the skills necessary in applying that principle?) --- Yes, well done screenplay, and well executed...especially the cute inside-methinks 'history' reference re Vesper nicknaming herself as "Money" (the Accountant tracking his use of funds) and Bond responding "...to the Penny" when they 1st meet on the plane.

LLAP

J:D

[John Dailey]

~ After (spoiler not delineated here), Bond reverts to his original, non-empathic, cold, assassin-oriented style of character (necessary to stay alive in THAT job, I'd say) who's attracted to women, but not 'looking for' any woman, yet is accepting of some vague idea of right and wrong. He was betrayed, but, he's not a betrayer, keeping in mind that the latter is accepted by him as clearly not necessarily 'evil'(!)

~ The scene where Bond is searching for Vesper (near the end) and finds a prof-guard of the area and quietly walks up next to the guard, points the gun point-blank at the guard's head and shoots, then walks off to find Vesper...all 'matter-of-factly' done...is what makes Bond BOND. --- NO 'empathy' for those who are lethally in his way, yet, all empathy for those not (a la Vesper). THIS set of scenes is definitely "Bond, James Bond." Well done.

LLAP

J:D

Edited March 24, 2007 by John Dailey

[John Dailey]

Addendum:

~ I'm really glad that they didn't change the idea of the opening 'credit-sequence' style of using surrealistic representation symbolizing the story-style/orientation (however abstruse some of the varied past movies' were).

~ But, I really, Really miss the iconic female-forms always used...thence. THIS is a definite Minus for this movie!

LLAP

J:D

P.S: I think they 'stole' Bond's torture-scene from (Fleming-now-deceased) Kingsley Amis' sequel-attempt, COLONEL SUN; but, therein a tennis racquet was used, ergo, things were a bit more...'personal.'

Edited March 24, 2007 by John Dailey

[Peter]

On 11/18/2006 at 6:13 PM, Bidinotto said:

I've just given a rave review to the new Bond film, "Casino Royale."

Read my review here.

I think this may well be the best 007 film -- and the best 007 -- ever. Daniel Craig dares to break the mold and make this character his own.

Jump in your Aston-Martin and rush to the theater NOW.

From the web. “No Time to Die.” The next James Bond film will be released in 2019. The next James Bond film has been officially announced, with the new movie set to hit cinemas in November 2019.

Ooops. Because of the coronavirus it will premier in The United States on November 25, 2020. Daniel Craig will play James Bond. Both Craig and his wife, Rachel Weisz were British citizens but now they are citizens of the United States..

Hmmmm? Who is the best James Bond ever? 

[turkeyfoot]

21 hours ago, Peter said:

Hmmmm? Who is the best James Bond ever? 

Not a woman. A man.

What was the nonsense pretending 007 could be a girl? Ha ha, its a resentment my father in law felt, I think, when he heard women would be enrolled at West Point.

The best one I read about was reading The Spy Who Loved Me. I learned what foreplay was. Just for fun I found the pdf for free and found several scenes I remembered from when I was 14. Then I was so intrigued by scene and word descriptions I couldn't put it down. My previous subject had been ERB books. 

I know many movies aren't being shown until later or can be streamed instead but Thxgvg? So probably its in spite of the corona virus is my guess since they scheduled it smack dab in flu season.

The past year I upgraded a Bose system and accompanying components. There is the same thrill, sound and cinema experience now from home with 5.2.2 (Dolby/Atmos), HDR and a screen from the front row watching The Daniel Craig Collection, one of the first 4k DVD's I purchased. Earlier Bonds had an artificial quality. It wasn't until Craig was named that I started watching again. The parkour scenes were amazing.

[Peter]

This is an oddity, but I get it.

Daniel Craig: I’ve been going to gay bars for as long as I can remember. Daniel Craig feels “safer” in gay bars because he doesn’t “get into fights” with other patrons as often as he does in other establishments.

[Peter]

The “Candy Man,” “What Kind of Fool Am I,” Talk to the Animals,” “You Only Live Twice.” So long Mr. Bricusse.

”Willy Wonka Songwriter Leslie Bricusse Dead at 90, Joan Collins Pays Tribute . . . . Among his many credits and collaborations, Bricusse wrote or co-wrote classic songs, including the 1964 Shirley Bassey hit "Goldfinger," as well as two Sammy Davis Jr. songs: "The Candy Man" from 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and "What Kind Of Fool Am I?" from 1961's Broadway musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. Bricusse, a nine-time Oscar nominee, won his first Academy Award for 1967's "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison. He took home his second for co-writing the score to 1982's Victor/Victoria alongside Henry Mancini.

Bricuss's most recent Oscar nomination came in 1992 for the Steven Spielberg film Hook, for which he was nominated with composer John Williams for the song "When You're Alone." Other song and writing credits over Bricusse's 45-year career include Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) and Beyond the Rainbow (1978), along with two songs for the James Bond franchise, "Goldfinger" and 1967's "You Only Live Twice," sung by Nancy Sinatra.

[Peter]

Ninth Doctor wrote: “Getting back to our collaborative thrillah, how about we have a CIA analyst, temporarily let's call him Jack Ryan, uncover a plot to use previously unknown technology/techniques to seed bigger badder hurricanes off the west African coast.” end quote 

We are watching Paramount’s, Jack Ryan and we are up to two shows in season two. It is violent, but intriguing.  And we need more Jack Reachers@!~