New Bond overcomes first challenge-MINOR REVIEW TYPE SPOILERS

[thamesvalidude]

The new James Bond has overcome his first challengers, the British press. Notoriously fickle and hard the please, the tabloid (and quality) press corps were wowed by Daniel Craig's performance in an early screening of Casino Royale. One hack even said that he had "stepped comfortably into Sean Connery's hand made shoes". Praise indeed!
The Times review that I read was gushing, stating that at last we have a Bond who can actually act!

I am personally quite relieved, as I do like Daniel Craig as an actor, ever since I first saw him in "Our friends in the North", a Brit TV mini series. However, even I thought he was a strange choice as Bond.
The opinion of the press is that he has a dangerous quality, that Moore and Brosnan did not have, both being smooth charmers, while he can act really mean, like Dalton!
Ian Fleming, first and foremost made his man a cold hearted killer, the rest is just icing.

Looks like he may just pull this one off!

 

[DarkArtist81]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

The new James Bond has overcome his first challengers, the British press. Notoriously fickle and hard the please, the tabloid (and quality) press corps were wowed by Daniel Craig's performance in an early screning of Casino Royale. One hack even said that he stepped comfortably into Sean Connery's hand made shoes. Praise indeed!
The Times review that I read was gushing, stating that at last we have a Bond who can actually act!

I am personally quite relieved, as I do like Daniel Craig as an actor, ever since I first saw him in "Our friends in the North", a Brit TV mini series. However, even I thought he was a strange choice as Bond.
The opinion of the press is that he has a dangerous quality, that Moore and Brosnan did not have, both being smooth charmers, while he can act really mean, like Dalton!
Ian Fleming, first and foremost made his man a cold hearted killer, the rest is just icing.

Looks like he may just pull this one off!

Rock on! Thanks for the news ThamesValidude! That is great to hear. It's something that I think has been forgotten over the past years with the Bond films. And that is Bond is a killer, first and foremost. He's charming and dashing, but also Dangerous and cold. From the previews I have seen, Craig captures the darker aspect of Bond. I'm very excited to see it and I think that many of his naysayers will think differently when they watch it, if they can just put away their misgivings and just try to enjoy the film.

I mean, every Bond fan can be happy if we have a good movie....

It kinda reminds me of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. People were so pissed to see Connery gone that they could not appreciate that the movie was actually pretty good, a lot more grounded in reality and closer to Fleming's work.

 

[wofford29]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

If anyone has any doubts about Craig as bond just rent the movie Layer Cake. My guess is that it had a big part in him landing this role.

 

[dekadentdave]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

Yawn... Layer Cake put me to sleep. So does Daniel Craig.

 

[pitchin]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

There is a line in casino royale where the bartender asks him if how he would like his vodka martini, shaken or stirred, he replies "Do I look like I care"

Here the review from the Glasgow Daily record newspaper:

EXCLUSIVE: FIRST REVIEW OF NEW 007 MOVIE
Bond rules are torn up
By David Edwards

TURNING to face the world's most famous superspy, the bartender asks of his martini, "Shaken or stirred, Sir?"

"Do I look like I care?" comes Bond's icy reply.

Make no mistake, the rulebook has been well and truly torn up for 007's latest movie.

And Casino Royale is a breathless, fantastically thrilling romp that's going to win a whole new generation of fans.

Easily the best Bond film since GoldenEye, it's 144 minutes of wall-to-wall action that proves there's plenty of life in the world's longest-running movie franchise.

But a word of warning - this is unlike any Bond flick that's come before.

Dark, gritty and surprisingly violent, gone is the suave, smooth-talking secret agent, replaced by a steely-eyed killer. And new 007 Daniel Craig, the man with the golden hair whose casting provoked an outcry among fans, is simply brilliant. He oozes the kind of edgy menace that recalls Sean Connery at his very best.

The movie hinges on a high-stakes poker game at Le Casino Royale in Montenegro.

While 007 still gets to drive around exotic locales in an Aston Martin and predictably ends up in a clinch with his leading lady, that's about the only thing Casino Royale has in common with the 20 films that have come before.

Aside from his readiness to kill without a blink, this Bond is far more vulnerable than his predecessors.

Not only does he have his heart broken, he winds up almost dead after a severe beating.

And if the torture scene doesn't bring tears to your eyes, the action setpieces most certainly will.

Aside from some awesome chase scenes, we get to see Bond trying to stop an airliner being blown up in a scene that'll make your head spin faster than necking five vodka martinis.

The year's most eagerly anticipated film does not disappoint. You'll be shaken. You'll be stirred. Heck, you'll be blown away.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

I like what I've seen of Craig in the Casino Royale trailers, he appears to me to be a colder version of Connery's Bond. What I'm more curious about is how well I'm going to like the more serious tone of this film. My favorite part of the old Bond movies was their tongue in cheek, almost comic book nature, but I think the Brosnan movies kinda proved that that formula doesn't really work well for a modern Bond. I'm interested to see if I can find a serious Bond film entertaining.

 

[thamesvalidude]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

The Times (London) review:

Every decade gets the Bond it deserves and we are living in some pretty scary times. Craig is up there with the best: he combines Sean Connery’s athleticism and ****sure swagger with Timothy Dalton’s thrilling undercurrent of stone-cold cruelty. While the rather foppish Pierce Brosnan had the bland chiselled looks of a male catalogue model, Craig’s face is endlessly fascinating. It’s brutishly ugly — he looks like he’d stab you in the eye if you crossed him, and would probably enjoy doing it. But his sex appeal is off the scale. He even makes his first assassination (shown in grainy black and white) an unsettlingly erotic experience. His Bond bleeds, bruises, makes fatal mistakes.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

...I think the Brosnan movies kinda proved that that formula doesn't really work well for a modern Bond. I'm interested to see if I can find a serious Bond film entertaining.

I agree, but I hope they haven't drained all the humor away...otherwise its just "24" on the big screen. I like Craig's menace -- at least in the trailer -- but I hope he can carry a certain sophisticated humor as well, otherwise its not really Bond.

I always thought Hans Gruber would be a perfect model for a modern Bond villain. He mixes humor and menace nicely. The Bond world has been short-changed on great villains for decades. And that's the one element that would really bring Bond back to life.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

If there is going to be an element of humor in the film, they've done a good job of disguising it in the trailers. I'm not expecting to hear any one-liners after a kill.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

If there is going to be an element of humor in the film, they've done a good job of disguising it in the trailers. I'm not expecting to hear any one-liners after a kill.

I think the whole 'one-liner after a kill' thing has run its course. Its been beaten to death in every action film since Goldfinger -- from Arnold to Willis to even Batman villains. I'd find it refreshing if they didn't try to force those jokes anymore. But I still think a dash of humor is necessary. Hopefully it will come from Craig's smugness more than a one-liner any character could say for a laugh. And hopefully they won't cheat and just add the comic relief character...like Cleese.

 

[Vader AL]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

good to hear it is more grounded. the bond's lately have been focused on Mission Impossible type stunts to where they are more like action movies. i'm excited to see this now. thanks for the info!

 

[tomandshell]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

The line in the trailer about Vesper keeping an eye on his "perfectly formed arse" and Bond's reply of "You noticed" made me laugh. I think that there will be some humor in the film, but not the old groaning one liners. (Like having a character go through the whole movie with a stupid name like "Christmas" just so you can have a dumb joke at the end.) Those were fine for their movies, but this one looks a bit more serious and goofy throwaway lines seem to be a thing of the past now.

I am really excited to see this movie after reading some of the comments from the press! Just under two weeks to go...

I just hope that they don't go back to the extreme overuse of CGI that killed "Die Another Day." When I see someone on screen doing a cool stunt in a Bond movie, I want it to be a real person, NOT a digitally animated cartoon character.

 

[DarkArtist81]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

I agree Tom... Bond needs real stunts, and not over the top silly sequences. Brosnan was great, but his movies were some of the most off the wall since Moonraker. Craig seems to have the balance I've wanted for the character for a long time. The line in the trailer is the kind of humor I enjoy...

"It doesn't bother you.....Killing those people?"

"I wouldn't be very good at my job if I did."

I think this movie will still have the humor intact, albeit it being a little darker. But it will also have something that the series has sorely lacked for a long time. Real drama. And a Bond with true vulnerability and flaws.

I for one can't wait to see it....

 

[Ven]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

I think the whole 'one-liner after a kill' thing has run its course. Its been beaten to death in every action film since Goldfinger -- from Arnold to Willis to even Batman villains.

lol thats so true!


I'm glad that this bond is better then anticipated... I'm defintely going to check out this film...

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Re: New Bond overcomes first challenge

I think this movie will still have the humor intact, albeit it being a little darker.

That's what I'm hoping for.

I agree that the old cheesey one-liners are cliched and a relic of the past, I was just using that as an example of the type of humor that I definitely would not expect from this film based on the trailers. There needs to be some humor though or he's no longer Bond. Some of that charm, even if it's a more sinister charm, has to remain.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Okay, I've read the book and seen the trailer, but I'd have rather not had the martini line spoiled. Let's please identify spoilers for the film.

Also having seen the reaction, seems like they should remake OHMSS with Craig - it deserves a real actor and is easily the best written Bond film.

 

[DarkArtist81]

Okay, I've read the book and seen the trailer, but I'd have rather not had the martini line spoiled. Let's please identify spoilers for the film.

Also having seen the reaction, seems like they should remake OHMSS with Craig - it deserves a real actor and is easily the best written Bond film.

I agree Dave... OHMSS was a classic, written very well and had one of the saddest endings for a Bond film yet. The film had a very nice look as well, far more modern looking than you would think. But poor Lazenby just wasn't the right man for the job. Still a good Bond, but he didn't really bring much to the table as far as the character goes.

It would be cool to see that movie done right. I'm excited no matter what they do from here on out.

 

[dekadentdave]

Also having seen the reaction, seems like they should remake OHMSS with Craig - it deserves a real actor and is easily the best written Bond film.

OHMSS is my all time favorite Bond film. If they remake it with Craig, I shall have to slit my wrists.

 

[Memnoch]

I'm torn. I love the more modern serious take, but am not sure if I like the idea of basically a total reboot which is what this seems to be. Now if they go ahead and do one non book sequel but DO remake the books as Craig movies.. that may be the way to go. I think for their time the Bond movies were fantastic and still enjoy most of them up till Die Another Day where it just went off the wall. For my money the best part of the trailers I have seen have been his exchange with "M" where Bond says: "So you want me to be half monk, half hit man." Either way I am excited and interested to see what they do, restart or no.

 

[DarkArtist81]

OHMSS is my all time favorite Bond film. If they remake it with Craig, I shall have to slit my wrists.

Wow... Dave, you really really really hate Craig... Don't you?