Casino Royale Impressions

[whiteboyskim]

Alright everyone, a new James Bond and a new Bond film are upon us so all those who have impressions make with them forthwith in this thread. I'm dying to see it moreso now because my parents saw a sneak screening last night and both damn near hyperventilated from excitement. My dad is a long-time Bond fan (who introduced me to the series, by the way) and he thinks it's easily the best one he's seen in forever.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Wanna go see it tonight? I've gotta work in the morning, but could reasonably hit a 7:00 or 9:00 pm show. Pretty sure Fireball's up for it, too.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Seeing it tomorrow afternoon myself.  Can't wait!  I should get my 007 Box Sets today too!

[PeteRock]

Over at Octopus Overlords I've been defending for months the acting prowess of Daniel Craig and his casting for the role of Bond based on his role in Layer Cake, explaining how for the first time ever I'm almost unbearably excited for a Bond film, calling Casino Royale the Batman Begins of the Bond franchise, and now people are finally seeing what I've been talking about since the orignal casting selection.  Now that the reviews are in people are finally buying into the hype and changing their tune about Craig.  For months I've heard how he's just not fit to play Bond, either that he's too blond, not attractive enough, not charming enough, etc.  But, those who have seen Layer Cake are aware of his potential based on that role. 

My point?  I don't really have one, other than that I am beyond excited for this film, and I'm happy to see Craig being lauded as one of the best Bonds to date.  My favorite aspect of his portrayal of the character?  That he's a tough Bond like Flemming originally intended, which is perfectly established in a particular scene involving a martini I've read about in a recent review. 

Minor spoiler:

Spoiler for Hiden:

When Bond is asked how he would like his martini, shaken or stirred, he quickly snaps, "Do I look like I care?"

Perfect.     Finally a Bond that doesn't look more at home getting a manicure than behind a gun.     

[Soulchilde]

See this tomorrow evening, so I should have some impression then

[whiteboyskim]

Alright gang, Crayola, Fireball, and Yours Truly are hitting the 8:15 p.m. show tonight at the Tinseltown in Plano. Anyone interested in joining in should get their tickets post haste. Impressions should be tonight but may be tomorrow. Here's hoping the movie is as good as the gang at AICN says so.

[Calvin]

Alright gang, Crayola, Fireball, and Yours Truly are hitting the 8:15 p.m. show tonight at the Tinseltown in Plano. Anyone interested in joining in should get their tickets post haste. Impressions should be tonight but may be tomorrow. Here's hoping the movie is as good as the gang at AICN says so.

I don't like Daniel Craig in this role, I dont like Daniel Craig particularly in the 2-3 films I have seen that have him in it, and I don't think hes right for bond. I do think, however, that this movie looks cool, and I am going to try to see it this weekend.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Alright gang, Crayola, Fireball, and Yours Truly are hitting the 8:15 p.m. show tonight at the Tinseltown in Plano. Anyone interested in joining in should get their tickets post haste. Impressions should be tonight but may be tomorrow. Here's hoping the movie is as good as the gang at AICN says so.

I don't like Daniel Craig in this role, I dont like Daniel Craig particularly in the 2-3 films I have seen that have him in it, and I don't think hes right for bond. I do think, however, that this movie looks cool, and I am going to try to see it this weekend.

Don't get Fireball started on Daniel Craig. It's not pretty. 

[Calvin]

Alright gang, Crayola, Fireball, and Yours Truly are hitting the 8:15 p.m. show tonight at the Tinseltown in Plano. Anyone interested in joining in should get their tickets post haste. Impressions should be tonight but may be tomorrow. Here's hoping the movie is as good as the gang at AICN says so.

I don't like Daniel Craig in this role, I dont like Daniel Craig particularly in the 2-3 films I have seen that have him in it, and I don't think hes right for bond. I do think, however, that this movie looks cool, and I am going to try to see it this weekend.

Don't get Fireball started on Daniel Craig. It's not pretty. 

But does he think Craig is pretty? Thats the million dollar question  :slywink:

[whiteboyskim]

No he does not, which is part of the whole problem. :slywink: He and I are huge (some might say fanatical) Bond freaks so or reactions to the film should spark some interesting debate at the very least.

[papasmurff]

Went and saw it this afternoon.  I loved it.  Probably one of the best that I had seen.  He takes bond to a new level.  As far as the plot goes it is pretty good.  overall 2 thumbs up

[Calvin]

No he does not, which is part of the whole problem. :slywink: He and I are huge (some might say fanatical) Bond freaks so or reactions to the film should spark some interesting debate at the very least.

Yeah, I am lookign forward to the debate actually! 

[whiteboyskim]

OH MY SWEET MERCIFUL LORD GOD IN HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 

Just got back from seeing it and it's unbelievable. For those Bond devotees in the audience, you will absolutely love what they hint at for future films. I have to seriously collect my thoughts before opining herein but this is easily the best Bond film in, like, forever. I have a personal affection for Die Another Day but more as a tribute to the series than a stand-alone film. But For Your Eyes Only was probably the last truly great Bond film, and it surpasses that by a country mile. More later but the short version is go see it.

Now.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Best Bond film in a long, long time. I realize that's not exactly saying mutch, but I think it easily becomes one of the top Bond's of all-time. With the exception of a few Steve Austin moments Bond is a real person - not just a wise-cracking, spy automaton. And, IMO, that works. Worked for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and it works here.

If you're remotely a fan of the series, you should treat yourself to a viewing. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Fireball1244]

Still not a fan of Craig in this role -- he looks like a thug or street brawler, and not the suave Bond I prefer -- but he's a very good actor, and he sells it. As for the movie?

This is the best James Bond film in 25 years. On my Super Official Ranking of James Bond movies, I'd place it sixth, just beneath For Your Eyes Only and above The Living Daylights. And if they go where I want them to go after this film, they may have solved the one major structural problem that has plagued the Bond films since the mid-1970s. MAJOR SPOILER below:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Mr. White appears to work for a shadowy terrorist organization. Could be... please let it be... might it be... SPECTRE?!

The casino-themed opening credits is fantastic. Liked the song, too.

On a scale of 1 to 10, my present ratings for the Bond films. Please be aware that some of these haven't been updated in years. I only use whole numbers here, so the granularity isn't great. Casino, Daylights and Eyes all appear to be rated the same, but Casino is a bit better than Daylights and not quite as good as Eyes. You have to go all the way back to 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me to find a Bond flick that's clearly better than Casino. Pretty impressive, indeed.

Obviously, red is Connery, orange is Lazenby, blue is Moore, purple is Dalton, green is Brosnan and brown is Craig. If you can't figure out what the abbreviations below mean, then most of my post probably doesn't mean much to you anyways.

[CeeKay]

More later but the short version is go see it.

Now.

Is Sunday OK?  I mean, we got some football game tomorrow so Saturday is right out but I think I can pencil in Sunday.

stuff with a bar graph

you actually keep a bar graph? 

you will absolutely love what they hint at for future films.

It's the first time I've heard they've signed someone other than the major players (bond, Q, M) for more than one film.  It's cool to see them doing that.

[Calvin]

More later but the short version is go see it.

Now.

Is Sunday OK?  I mean, we got some football game tomorrow so Saturday is right out but I think I can pencil in Sunday.

stuff with a bar graph

you actually keep a bar graph? 

you will absolutely love what they hint at for future films.

It's the first time I've heard they've signed someone other than the major players (bond, Q, M) for more than one film.  It's cool to see them doing that.

Wow, dude keeps a BAR GRAPH.

[Destructor]

My impressions:

Fantastic film, very gritty, very actiony, and will have you in surprise as to what happens next quite a lot.

Outstanding film. Best Bond film in years.

[EngineNo9]

Damn you bastards, I hardly ever go to opening weekend movies, but you're really making me want to put up with the packed, noisy theater so I can see this one.  

[Fireball1244]

stuff with a bar graph

you actually keep a bar graph? 

Nah, I whipped that together for my post. I do keep a document that lists my 1-to-10 rankings for each movie, average actor ratings, average decade ratings, etc. But I'm a political consultant, remember: I like statistical information. I break almost everything into statistics.

[Semaj]

I saw it on midnight on thursday/friday morning and debated posting my impressions then but decided to wait a day or two.

He's already my second favorite bond.  I dont think anyone can ever pass Connery, but this guy is damn good.  He is the billy badass bond always should have been.  As opposed to the roger moore one that made me want to hurt someone.

The movie is good, any bonds fans will tell you that in no small amount.  However I felt it wasnt as good as it could have been.  Its 2 and a half hours and at least 3 different times I kept expecting the movie to end while checking my watch.  I was wondering why they did specific scenes as long as they did.  I cant go into details without spoilerizing it, so I will Generalize for peeps before I hit my spoiler section...

The first chase scene if phenominal. It's clearly one of bonds better scenes, and unlike some bonds almost everything that happens action wise is within the realm of believability while still being over the top.

Spoiler for Hiden:

This scene will really help popularise how nifty Le Parkour is.  It's a very very entertaining scene because of how much the guy bond is chasing flies all over the place.

The Cardgame was the new hotness known as No Limit Texas holdem as opposed to what bond has normally played. To top it off, they have two of the other actors running commentary so much I felt like I was at a world series of poker main event. 

Also to develop the plot they really hammer a bunch of things home like Bonds utter and total love for his leading lady.  I actually went at one point: Great ok, he really loves her, now let her turn on him or die like every woman has ever done since time began when they harp on it this much.

[papasmurff]

complete spoiler only read if you have seen the movie

Spoiler for Hiden:

Also to develop the plot they really hammer a bunch of things home like Bonds utter and total love for his leading lady.  I actually went at one point: Great ok, he really loves her, now let her turn on him or die like every woman has ever done since time began when they harp on it this much.

Spoiler for Hiden:

well in the end both happened so oh well.  I agree that they went over the top with him and the ladies but bond has always been and always will be a ladies man.  For huge bond fans you will remember that once a long time ago bond was actually married.  Which is actually
what I expected to have happen again.

[octoman]

I saw it last night and thought it was great.  I really liked the fact that the movie departed from the invisible-car-type theatrics and was more grounded in reality.  The chase scenes were also very good.  I agree with the comment that it was too long, and I think they went overboard on hammering home the points that have been summarized briefly (with the "spoiler" tag) above.  Still, I think it's a great direction for the series.  I also agree that this new Bond seems a bit more "thuggish," but I don't think that's a bad thing, necessarily.  I'm more used to Bond being suave, and that didn't come through as much in this movie as it has in previous versions (note that I'm not saying "with previous actors" here, since I'm pretty sure that this is how the role was written this time, as opposed to the way that Daniel Craig "played" the role).

All in all though, thumbs up from me.

[leo8877]

Awesome movie, I really enjoyed this one!  I had my doubts about Daniel Craig when it was announced that he would be Bond, but those are put to rest for good now.  Also, Eva Green is smoking hot in this movie. 

[Knightshade Dragon]

Kerpow!  Best Bond movie in the last 20-30 years, hands down.  Fantastic.

[LoneStarSpur]

Is this a Bond movie for people who hate Bond movies?

[Knightshade Dragon]

Is this a Bond movie for people who hate Bond movies?

Be specific.  What didn't you like about Bond movies?  Its a step up already as Madonna isn't in it.  *shudder*

[whiteboyskim]

Is this a Bond movie for people who hate Bond movies?

I certainly think so. It's strips away all of the gadgets and gizmos of films like Die Another Day, The Spy Who Loved Me, and so forth. It takes things back to basics and is a solid espionage film. Consider this - the main plot of the film doesn't kick off until almost an hour in. The only gadgets Bond has are actually in the realm of possibility because they're cell phones, PDAs, and I think they used a GPS at one point. It's a Bond film grounded in reality which excites me to no end.

In short, yes it is.

[LoneStarSpur]

Is this a Bond movie for people who hate Bond movies?

Be specific.  What didn't you like about Bond movies?

I've just always found them to be...stupid, I guess.

Its a step up already as Madonna isn't in it.  *shudder*

I have no idea what that means. 

[LoneStarSpur]

Is this a Bond movie for people who hate Bond movies?

I certainly think so. It's strips away all of the gadgets and gizmos of films like Die Another Day, The Spy Who Loved Me, and so forth. It takes things back to basics and is a solid espionage film. Consider this - the main plot of the film doesn't kick off until almost an hour in. The only gadgets Bond has are actually in the realm of possibility because they're cell phones, PDAs, and I think they used a GPS at one point. It's a Bond film grounded in reality which excites me to no end.

In short, yes it is.

Thanks. Definite rental.

[whiteboyskim]

Dude, it's worth it to see this with a crowd in the theater. I haven't said that about a film in a long time, but it's very true.

[Thin_J]

I saw it on Tuesday.

It was the best Bond Movie I have ever seen.

It's complete departure from the gadgets and silly stuff of both most of the past movies and all of the more recent ones made it far more entertaining in my mind.

Fucking. Awesome.

[unbreakable]

I always liked the Timothy Dalton "commando Bond" character, which is actually true to the source material, so it's nice to see them stick with that.  Plus, nobody is really going to be able to out-suave Connery or Moore: Bosnian tried, and seemed awkward and self-conscious most of the time.

Another thing I really liked was how they stayed true to the entire Bond storyline.  It was always hinted at that Bond had been very much in love, and she died because of his line of work.  So having that played out here, and the way they did it well without making it seem phony or contrived (having them frolic and roll around in a field of flowers, for example) was very much to the credit of the movie.

It did seem pretty long.  By the end of the film my butt was falling asleep.

[PeteRock]

I saw it on Tuesday.

It was the best Bond Movie I have ever seen.

It's complete departure from the gadgets and silly stuff of both most of the past movies and all of the more recent ones made it far more entertaining in my mind.

Fucking. Awesome.

You said in under 50 words what I would have said in about 500.  

I give your sentiments a hearty +1.

[gellar]

Great movie... I'll paste my thoughts I posted on BC about it here.  Really enjoyable.
======   
Saw it and while I really did enjoy it, and it is indeed the best Bond in recent memory... I didn't love it. The last 30 mins or so just were very average and compared to the spectacular first hour just kinda ended it on a downer for me.

Overall though, the first 2 hours had me grinning like a fool and having a great time. Worth seeing fo'sho.

gellar

[Semaj]

I think the point is early in his career bond was billy badass and as time progresses he gets more suave and less stright to the violence.

So to bring back the connery-type bond, they needed to start this guy at the beginning before he gets all sissified.

makes sense to me anyways....

[Ridah]

I began watching the Bond movies at Goldeneye, so for me this is definately the best Bond movie since then. The new guy they got to play Bond makes the rest of them look like pansies.

[wonderpug]

Just watched a 2nd time with some friends who hadn't gotten to it yet, but some things still don't seem to be adding up in the plot regarding Vesper:

Spoiler for Hiden:

At the end of the movie, when Bond is bitter and untrusting of the world, he's having a little chat with M on the phone.  M asks 007 something to the effect of, "Don't you wonder why you didn't die that night...Vesper must have made a deal to spare your life in exchange for the money."

Are they talking about the night of the torture?  Because if they are, at that point all the bad guys needed Bond alive for the password, so how would Vesper be in any position to make a deal for his life?

[unbreakable]

Spoiler for Hiden:

At the end of the movie, when Bond is bitter and untrusting of the world, he's having a little chat with M on the phone.  M asks 007 something to the effect of, "Don't you wonder why you didn't die that night...Vesper must have made a deal to spare your life in exchange for the money."

Are they talking about the night of the torture?  Because if they are, at that point all the bad guys needed Bond alive for the password, so how would Vesper be in any position to make a deal for his life?

I know they mentioned she had a kidnapped Algerian boyfriend.  Were these the same people?

Anyway, I'm assuming they intended to just kill everyone, but she offered to get them the money if they left her and Bond alive.  So they figured since they could get $150 Million and do what they came to do anyway, it was a good deal.

[whiteboyskim]

Spoiler for Hiden:

At the end of the movie, when Bond is bitter and untrusting of the world, he's having a little chat with M on the phone.  M asks 007 something to the effect of, "Don't you wonder why you didn't die that night...Vesper must have made a deal to spare your life in exchange for the money."

Are they talking about the night of the torture?  Because if they are, at that point all the bad guys needed Bond alive for the password, so how would Vesper be in any position to make a deal for his life?

I know they mentioned she had a kidnapped Algerian boyfriend.  Were these the same people?

Anyway, I'm assuming they intended to just kill everyone, but she offered to get them the money if they left her and Bond alive.  So they figured since they could get $150 Million and do what they came to do anyway, it was a good deal.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Actually she knew they would kill her but she had actually fallen in love with Bond so the deal was the spare his life, not hers. In the end, they intended to kill both of them since they were most likely working for SPECTRE (please let it be true, please let it be true, please let it be true).