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Movie, Entertaining Movie...
Just came back from Casino Royale. And I am happy to say that you can do a James Bond film with a present-day sensibility, with a minimum of outlandish plotting, with enough realism to make you believe everything that's going on, and with an actor who gets both the heroism and the brutishness of James Bond.
Daniel Craig is a very strong choice to take on the role, and Judi Dench is great as M. (I know she's been playing that part for a while now, but I missed the Brosnan Era by choice, so this is my first time seeing her in that role.) The film deftly weaves a good deal of plot that relies as much on cunning as action, but has plenty of that as well. It also plays off the older films coyly. The decision to restart the Bond series with a newly minted 00 agent was a great one, and could lead to a good number of good films again.
What's really funny is that the real world seems less real than the movies. In the movie, spies kill with guns, or their bare hands. Makes sense. In the real world, apparently, spies kill with very rare radioisotopes. How weird is that? And how dumb is that?
Anyway, if you are a longtime fan of the Bond series, especially the older films, I recommend this. And if you are a fan of things like Greg Rucka's Queen and Coutry comic book and other harsher works of spy fiction, you will probably like this as well.
Daniel Craig is a very strong choice to take on the role, and Judi Dench is great as M. (I know she's been playing that part for a while now, but I missed the Brosnan Era by choice, so this is my first time seeing her in that role.) The film deftly weaves a good deal of plot that relies as much on cunning as action, but has plenty of that as well. It also plays off the older films coyly. The decision to restart the Bond series with a newly minted 00 agent was a great one, and could lead to a good number of good films again.
What's really funny is that the real world seems less real than the movies. In the movie, spies kill with guns, or their bare hands. Makes sense. In the real world, apparently, spies kill with very rare radioisotopes. How weird is that? And how dumb is that?
Anyway, if you are a longtime fan of the Bond series, especially the older films, I recommend this. And if you are a fan of things like Greg Rucka's Queen and Coutry comic book and other harsher works of spy fiction, you will probably like this as well.
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What the series could really use, though, are some better screenwriters. The series doesn't have to settle with a little bit of ridiculousness and a few structural flaws. If a Bond film had a great screenplay, a great story and a great depiction of the main character, chances are that film would do better than the others. I'm not sure why studios are so afraid of backing a well written blockbuster. Maybe they're too reliant on formula, or can't find a good script, or both; but I bet you there's tons of excellent writers out there who'd be more than willing to knock out an oustanding screenplay for the Bond franchise. I don't reccomend handing the franchise over to auteurs, but allowing more room for excellence than Casino Royale permitted might turn Bond from a popcorn flick to great cinema--and possibly a huge blockbuster.
In the real world, apparently, spies kill with very rare radioisotopes.
Sloppy spies who get caught, you mean. ;)