“The name’s Bond. James Bond.”
Today I had the pleasure of being escorted to the pictures, courtesy of the lovely Mr Archer. Before, we had watched Anchorman, first half of. Not being a huge fan of Will Ferrell, I wasn’t expecting much, but it surprised me with some off-the-wall humour. Also the appearance of Jack Black was a pleasant, if mildly traumatic event. Angry biker! Grr!
… Quit glaring at me, Kyle.
And then we went to the cinema and watched the feature presentation - Casino Royale.
Good god, I love Bond films.
Daniel Craig was utterly superb. He portrayed a darker Bond, as has been said in so many reviews, but that inate arrogance was still there - the slight swagger, the bleak humour mixed with self confidence that borders on cockiness, but is in fact well placed confidence. Bond doesn’t reckon he’s the best - he knows it. Yet here, in his first task as a 00 agent, he has to prove it to himself, and he still knows it! Brilliant! Our introduction to him was fantastic.
It doesn’t seem strange to us, now we’re so accustomed to it, that over the years, in over 20 films that span similar plotlines, we’ve had different actors playing the same part so differently. But imagine the controversy if, say, Johnny Depp suddenly quit Pirates of the Carribean and we had George Clooney playing a slick, sharp talking Jack Sparrow. No! It isn’t plausible or possible! Yet this excitement is what draws us to the Bond films, and they certainly wouldn’t be such a great part of us now if not for the different styles of every film.
Oh, but it was splendid. There was torture, there was gambling, there was sex. Whoopee! And, god, the SONG. I am listening to it as we speak and it’s most excellent. “Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you… the odds will betray you.. and I will replace you… … YOU KNOW MY NAME.” And damnit, yes we do!
The one thing that I don’t like about Bond films usually is that Bond doesn’t seem to even notice when he kills someone. Bang bang, henchman dead, we move swiftly one. Well, they’re dispensible, right? Yet doesn’t that make Bond a bit of an antihero? Normally we place such emphasis on love and compassion. Looking at the bigger picture, each of those henchman had family and friends, a life of their own, perhaps pets and hobbies. Yet BANG and down they go. This time we saw that yes, he’s reckless and ruthless… but perhaps not heartless. Daniel Craig had the slightest quirk of the lip, matched with a steely gaze, that speaks words. He’s a superb actor.
The Bond women? Splendid as usual, they fulfilled their functions… the woman who played Vesper Lynd particularly commendable. Also, I must find out who played Le Chiffre. A stunning portrayal of a desperate and cruel man, but one who really seems more cowardly than evil… just wanting to cover his own arse… perhaps the greatest evil of all? The torture scene sent shivers down my spine. It says something when someone being hit in the balls with a large heavy whip can get the largest laugh of the film with the line “Now everyone will know that you died… scratching my balls…”
Brilliant.
And Judi Dench. Well. She was out of this world.
“Christ, I miss the Cold War.”
There was, really, one bad thing about this. Q. Where, oh where oh where was Q? Well, dead, obviously, but oh! When the car crashed, I leaned over and whispered “And Q rolls in his grave. Again.” Aside from that, a brilliant film.
9/10. Possibly, in fact, 10/10. And that’s pretty damn hard to get from me, despite how easily amused I am.
Posted by in 00:01:51
I’m feeling silly. Now your blog gets tagged. TAG! You’re it!
Well. Hmm. Okay then.
Yay!
I’m too lazy to write a review, but good to know you enjoyed it as much (perhaps more) than I did.
I agree that the song is fantastic. Chris Cornell is a great singer/songwriter, and its probably the only Bond theme I’d ever consider putting on my mp3 player.
You, sir, need to listen to a View to a Kill.
I admire your work,can you teach me how to write such a nice article