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November 21, 2006
Casino Royale (2006)
IMDB: Casino Royale (2006)
Plot Outline: James Bond's first mission, where he must stop a banker from winning a casino tournament and using the prize money to fund terrorist activities.
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Saw this on Sunday with a bunch of friends and couldn't have been more pleased. Any doubts concerning the ability of Daniel Craig to take on the mantle of James Bond were, IMHO, totally without merit.
He was FANTASTIC!
I thought the writing was terrific, the dialog superb, and the pacing, although a bit stretched near the end, to be right on target. I don't think the movie suffered at all for its lack of super gadgets, or beyond-reality special effects, in fact, if anything, this back-to-basics Bond truly struck a chord in my appreciation for the character.
Oh, and did I say Daniel Craig was FANTASTIC?
First of all, I could hardly tell he was a 'blonde', his body was cut
like diamonds, his blue eyes kept that thousand yard gaze throughout the entire film, and he always moved from point to point with a real
purpose, whether chasing a villain across a township, or moving
throughout the Casino.
And, speaking from a purely heterosexual point of view, I would say
Craig provided the most eye candy for the audience when he acme out of the ocean, dripping wet, again with the thousand-yard gaze.
I know of one female friend who let out some audible recognition for the buff bod.
I've heard complaints from two reviewers about too much time being spent at the poker table, one reviewer complaining that if you don't know much about poker, you'd be bored, but I found the gaming table scenes to be electric with tension, and anyone who can't figure out the game after watching it for a couple minutes perhaps isn't bright enough to be allowed to go to the movies.
Another thing that I enjoyed about this Bond that reminded me of very
early Bond pictures is that it was more closely tailored to the original book. A scene in which Bond is tortured by the villain Le Chiffre, is almost exactly like the book, if you replace a carpet-beating cane with a rope with a waxed knot on the end of it. Brrrrrrr. makes me shiver just thinking about that scene.
In summary, this movie goer is extremely anxious to see the next Daniel Craig/James Bond film http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/ which is billed as being a continuation of the Casino Royale story...
Rating: 8
[Viewing Date: 11/19/06]
Posted by mark at November 21, 2006 06:46 PM
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