Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

BOND IS BACK BABY!

I finally saw Casino Royale yesterday, and let me tell you it was TOTALLY AWESOME!

As this film serves as a "reboot" for the franchise, there are a number of differences between this film and the rest of the series.

The biggest difference-in my mind-between this film and the vast majority of Bond movies is that it depicts James Bond as a human being, rather than a super-sophisticated immortal superhero.

The first thing viewers will notice is the absence of the classic "gunbarrel walk" that has opened all prior films. Instead, audiences are treated to a black-and-white sequence of Bond confronting Dryden, a double-agent intercut with a brutal fight with the Dryden's contact. Only after the contact and Dryden are eliminated does the gunbarrel appear, which leads into, as nerdjedi calls it "the trippiest Bond song number yet."

Another huge difference is that there is an actual love story in this film, and it's actually an central part of the plot. While this isn't a unique occurance (Bond was briefly married in On Her Majesty's Secret Service-wife murdered by the villain), it's certainly rare enough to merit a good amount of attention.

The storyline will keep audiences on the edge of their seat for most of the film because-and this is a first for the series-the bad guys' (there are villains aplenty in Casino Royale) plot is never fully revealed, which keeps audiences guessing.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire film is the new James Bond, played by English actor Daniel Craig. Craig was the subject of an extreme amount of criticism after he was chosen by producers for the role, though much of it was unfounded. So he's blonde, so what? Okay, Roger Moore was blonde and most of his films were terrible, but still... Anyway, Craig has silenced his critics and become one of the best Bonds ever. Some will even argue that he's (*gasp!*) better than Sean Connery!

However, the film is not without its problems. The game of Texas Hold 'Em poker, though central to the plot, is not, in my opinion, given enough screen time. Though the game is supposed to last for at least two nights, the players are at the table for less than ten minutes. And while most of the scenes are tension-filled, I feel that the film makers did not focus enough on the game, which is central to the plot of the novel.

Another low point is the car chase, or lack thereof. Besides a tray in the glovebox for a personal defibrillator and Bond's Walther P99 handgun, the Aston Martin DBS is completely devoid of gadgets. And the "car chase" is simply Bond chasing after a kidnapped Vesper Lynd and then wrecking his car to avoid hitting Vesper, who'd been dumped in the middle of the road by Le Chiffre's men. Also, car enthusiasts will be quick to point out that the DBS, which is essentially a street-legal version of the Aston Martin DBR9 race car, features a special stability-control-system that prevents it from rolling over as it did in the film.

Fortunately for viwers, the film's faults are few and far between. I highly recomend seeing this film, whether you're a Bond fan or not. It's definitely worth it.

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Also, I'd like to get a bit more feedback on my choice for an airsoft pistol. As I said before, cost, range, power, and ammo capacity are all about the same, so now it's all about looks.

The choices are:
The Heckler & Koch USP45.

The Glock 17.

The Sig-Sauer P226.

The Colt M1911A1.

Comment your votes. And let me know what you thought of the movie and my review.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"So he's blonde, so what?"

No Mr. Blonde, I expect you to dye!

Anonymous said...

Dude, the lack of a car chase scene was completely excused on account of the parkour chase scene. That was AWESOME!!

Raptor said...

True...

parkour?

Anonymous said...

whats a parkour?

Anonymous said...

Parkour video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929&q=russian+climbing&hl=en

Parkour, developed by the French, is essentially the philosophy of getting, as fast as you can, from point A to point B. Instead of going around obstacles, you go over, under, or through them. Example: You're running, there's a window and a door next to you. Parkour-ists (if that's what they're called) would jump through the window instead of going through the door (quicker).

Anonymous said...

YOU'RE GONNA BUY A GUN?!?!?!?

I'm also in a slump. Yay. Us. Note the sarcasm.

Tim said the word trippiest? That's like, hippy-ish sounding. And Tim is far from hippy-ish. Although maybe he's like secretly hippy-ish. Who knows?

My sister asks the question, "Who is anonymous?"

If only we knew, Emma, if only we knew.

Raptor said...

Oh yeah. I thought you were talking about the airport chase sequence... thing... for some reason. So that's what it's called.

No Ali, not a real gun. Airsoft. Essentially a low-powered BB gun that's a replica of a real gun. They're all made in Japan.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 1: Tim

Anonymous 2: Andrew