Friday, December 15, 2006

Casino Royale. I have always had a soft spot for this franchaise. I remember reading Ian Fleming's books when I was in secondary school. My first few Bond films were of Roger Moore, and I enjoyed them immensely. I did not like Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, partly because there were so much competition for action thrillers, and partly because the stylish cars and gadgets, pretty Bond women, extravagant fight scenes, etc, seem to distract from what was essentially great, and fun, about the franchaise. Now, Daniel Craig received a lot of flak when he was announced as the current Bond, but from the looks of this film, I think he more than stood up with the best Bond ever, Sean Connery. I thought it helped a little that this was the first of the Bond films, when he was first promoted to the 00 ranks, hence he was allowed a little leeway to be ... less perfect, more human. I enjoyed the first chase sequence, the almost Yamakasi-like leaps and jumps; I enjoyed the gambling moments, when in the past it would had deemed too boring; Eva Green made a more interesting Bond girl since Michelle Yeoh; Mads Mikkelson makes a terrific villian, with his blood tears, think he suffered a little making those red drops drop ... and that torture scene by Mads on Daniel, was really hilarious. A Bond film that I can watch again.

♥ 9:52 am