Casino Royal
Mar. 17th, 2007 07:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muck_a_luckI'm sure everybody else has already seen this movie already, but anyway...
Firstly, and I cannot emphasize this often enough, Daniel Craig is HOT! To quote Husband, "He strips off even better than Connery," though I have to say that he also looks fantastic IN clothes. There's a scene in the Bahamas where he's talking to M. They are talking some expositionary stuff, and at the end of the scene, I was like, Um, sorry, missed that entirely. And honestly, I cannot remember that *ever* happening to me. :D He was wearing a fitted black short-sleeved T made out of something shiny and silky and he had those broad shoulders and trim waist and nice arms and he was just TOWERING over M and those long, long legs.
Ahem.
Anyway, before I leave the theme, he didn't look nearly as good in his formal wear, and I think this is because he should not wear white. Though why he looks so good in black if white looks so bad on him, I'll never know. Men can get away with black for some reason.
Moving on. :D
I'd say that Craig is also by far the best actor to play Bond, with the exception of Dalton, but he hardly counts, as he was only in two and the second one is unwatchable. Of course, he gets to play a more complicated Bond, too. He still seems to get rattled by sudden violence, frustrated by setbacks, attached to the women he later throws away. Arrogant, but not entirely caught up in his own ego yet. Craig pulls it off and he's awesome.
The action sequences were mindboggling, partially because the way they were done made them look like they might actually be real, aside from a few things where Bond held on when physics seemed to suggest holding on would be impossible. The movie probably should have ended with Bond falling to his doom from those cranes at the beginning. And yet, the rest of the chase through the construction site seemed surprisingly believeable. Very fun. We are considering running that 20 minutes or so for AG33 to watch.
Weirdly, I thought that it was actually a movie AG33 could watch, with light editing. Except I don't really want him watching summary executions at his age. I think that's where the violence goes from fantasy, LOTR type violence, to real murder and crime violence, so probably he won't get to see the whole thing.
The story was plotty and the locations were gorgeous. Bond action scenes aside, the whole thing was much more subtle than usual. Better leading female role, better villians, humor that wasn't too broad, and lots of inside jokes for those who are familiar with the franchise.
I was particularly enamored of M's assistant. It's funny how something really mundane can be the funniest moment for me. When Bond calls M to tell her what is about to happen in Miami and he has to get through M's gatekeeper to talk to her. When the secretary says, I need to put you on hold, I was dissolving in giggles. :) I aspire to be Moneypenny. :)
And I will conclude with another quote from Husband. The day of the poker game, Bond is having a lot of problems. (BTW, as someone who does not play poker, I thought the movie's biggest misstep was in the handling of the poker game. I do wish she'd worn a better dress at the beginning and he'd looked better in his formal wear. *sighs*) Husband says, "He's having a very Jack Bauer day."
:)
So, possibly the best Bond ever. Certainly the best Bond I've seen. Husband will be rushing me off over the next several days to see From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service so that I can make a definitive statement.
Firstly, and I cannot emphasize this often enough, Daniel Craig is HOT! To quote Husband, "He strips off even better than Connery," though I have to say that he also looks fantastic IN clothes. There's a scene in the Bahamas where he's talking to M. They are talking some expositionary stuff, and at the end of the scene, I was like, Um, sorry, missed that entirely. And honestly, I cannot remember that *ever* happening to me. :D He was wearing a fitted black short-sleeved T made out of something shiny and silky and he had those broad shoulders and trim waist and nice arms and he was just TOWERING over M and those long, long legs.
Ahem.
Anyway, before I leave the theme, he didn't look nearly as good in his formal wear, and I think this is because he should not wear white. Though why he looks so good in black if white looks so bad on him, I'll never know. Men can get away with black for some reason.
Moving on. :D
I'd say that Craig is also by far the best actor to play Bond, with the exception of Dalton, but he hardly counts, as he was only in two and the second one is unwatchable. Of course, he gets to play a more complicated Bond, too. He still seems to get rattled by sudden violence, frustrated by setbacks, attached to the women he later throws away. Arrogant, but not entirely caught up in his own ego yet. Craig pulls it off and he's awesome.
The action sequences were mindboggling, partially because the way they were done made them look like they might actually be real, aside from a few things where Bond held on when physics seemed to suggest holding on would be impossible. The movie probably should have ended with Bond falling to his doom from those cranes at the beginning. And yet, the rest of the chase through the construction site seemed surprisingly believeable. Very fun. We are considering running that 20 minutes or so for AG33 to watch.
Weirdly, I thought that it was actually a movie AG33 could watch, with light editing. Except I don't really want him watching summary executions at his age. I think that's where the violence goes from fantasy, LOTR type violence, to real murder and crime violence, so probably he won't get to see the whole thing.
The story was plotty and the locations were gorgeous. Bond action scenes aside, the whole thing was much more subtle than usual. Better leading female role, better villians, humor that wasn't too broad, and lots of inside jokes for those who are familiar with the franchise.
I was particularly enamored of M's assistant. It's funny how something really mundane can be the funniest moment for me. When Bond calls M to tell her what is about to happen in Miami and he has to get through M's gatekeeper to talk to her. When the secretary says, I need to put you on hold, I was dissolving in giggles. :) I aspire to be Moneypenny. :)
And I will conclude with another quote from Husband. The day of the poker game, Bond is having a lot of problems. (BTW, as someone who does not play poker, I thought the movie's biggest misstep was in the handling of the poker game. I do wish she'd worn a better dress at the beginning and he'd looked better in his formal wear. *sighs*) Husband says, "He's having a very Jack Bauer day."
:)
So, possibly the best Bond ever. Certainly the best Bond I've seen. Husband will be rushing me off over the next several days to see From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service so that I can make a definitive statement.
