Fradam

After much poking, prodding, bugging and otherwise incessant badgering from numerous people to go see Casino Royale, I finally did it, and saw it without thinking about all the things the media have been saying about it for ages.

Overall, I have to say I am impressed.

I am one of the many who was getting a little tired of the over-slicked and over-gadgetised Bond of recent years, which had become an exercise in sheer technological indulgence for the people behind it. We’ve seen everything from disappearing cars and X-ray glass to the most unrealistic of them all, a jetpack! It was honestly getting a bit much. I don’t think Bond was ever meant to get suave — a trend which I guess began with Roger Moore. The classics with Sean Connery were smooth at times, but also a bit brutish in some respects.

Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond is indeed a throwback to those times, with his character being placed in his novitiate as far as ‘00′ status is concerned, and thus, is fully qualified with being ‘rough around the edges’:

James Bond: Vodka-martini.
Bartender: Shaken or stirred?
James Bond: Does it look like I give a damn?

Watching this younger, brash Bond, was reminiscent of watching Sean Connery on old Friday night Channel 10 Bond reruns. A British gentleman who knew what he wanted and how to get it.

I found most of the commentary on Craig to be quite interesting — reviewers “were forced to eat their words over doubts about Daniel Craig’s ability to play agent 007“. Many fans however, yelled loudly against him — and why? He is blonde and blue eyes… yes, I am dead serious. Of course, that didn’t stop him somehow being voted World’s Sexiest Man, which I heartily disagree with.. it definitely should have Johnny on top!

The part of the film I find the most curious surrounds the concept of time. This is apparently the first Bond film (in terms of his career), since it deals with his promotion to ‘00′ status, yet, they are quite happy to note that it is indeed the year 2006, and things like SMS are freely available. If we consider there to be no timeline of Bond outside of a start and then a middle, then this makes sense — except that M is still a woman (no longer grey though), as she is in the last few movies, but not in any prior. A bit of a muddled mess!

All in all though, it has done well at the box office, becoming the highest ever earning Bond film of all time, and I would recommend those unsure about the movie to go ahead and check it out!