Royale Flush

CASINO ROYALE

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Bond series, so it was highly unlikely that this one was going to win me over. This, the 21st Bond movie is being marketed as a restart of the series. In the wake of the recent Mission Impossible and Borne franchises, Bond has toughened up. Gone are the gadgets and the quippy one-liners. Instead we are graced with a whole new Bond (played by Daniel Craig), with a grittier attitude. He’s certainly more aggressive than previous Bonds (the fight scenes are a lot more brutal this time round), but he’s not as suave with the ladies.

Craig gives a decent performance though, and is certainly capable of the hefty action that’s demanded of him. The Bond Girl “du jour”, played by Eva Green is a total bore and there’s absolutely no chemistry between her and Craig. The villain of the piece Mads Mikkelsen is decidedly more understated than previous outings, but also comes across as a bit of a wimp.

The action set pieces possess an energy that’s been sorely lacking from the series. The added touch of realism only serves to accentuate the danger and most of the sequences are quite thrilling :D The music, almost like a Bond character in itself, is as glorious as ever. Even the title track was a noticeable improvement over the past few movies.

Like most Bond movies though, the plot is all over the place and is best ignored. I continually found myself wondering how he figured out where to go next as he made seemingly giant leaps of logic from the smallest and most obscure of clues. The film also runs for FAR too long, with a serious dip in action during the poker game (supposedly the centre-piece of the movie).

Bond traditionalist might have a hard time accepting some of the changes, but I’m sure few can criticise Craig. It’s a foregone conclusion that the series will continue, but sadly this movie did nothing to spark my interest in any future entries.

The Good:

Daniel Craig: A new Bond for a new Millennium, he really made the role his own.
The music: David Arnold continues to safeguard one of the franchises most cherished legacies.
Judi Dench: This woman can do no wrong.

The Bad:

Eva Green: Slightly dowdy and wetter than a used bath towel.
The plot: Messy, uneven and there’s some DEPLORABLE dialogue thrown in.
The product placement: Sony, you should be ashamed of yourselves :P

Oh and while on the subject of Bond, I’m loving the new Bond-themed video from the Scissor Sisters! Much better than the sequence used in Casino Royale! :D