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Blowfeld
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The Stop Button

Post by Blowfeld »

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Casino Royale (2006)

I had read somewhere Casino Royale wasn’t going to be chock-full of CG like the recent Bond films, but maybe I misread it. As a series, the Bond films are supposed to be about stunt work and explosions. Casino Royale is actually light on explosions and practically absent of stunts. There’s lots of stunt-looking stuff, but it appears to be CG composites. Terrible CG composites, much like director Martin Campbell’s previous Bond film, Goldeneye, which at least had the excuse of being an early CG-adopter. I can find one nice thing to say about Casino Royale--maybe two. Daniel Craig is not bad. He’s fine, actually. He’s not playing James Bond--because after so many actors, Bond is a shell of a character. He’s made by certain trivialities, which make an amusing couple hours in exotic locales filled with foreign actors speaking English and explosions and stunts. Casino Royale, I’m sure it’s more pretentious supporters would say, serves to deconstruct said trivialities, which leaves the film empty. I sat and waited for one exciting scene and it never came. The other good thing was Giancarlo Giannini. He’s amusing in a self-aware performance. A lot of Casino Royale’s performances feel as though Campbell has just called “action.” The performances are all very stagy. But I’ll get to them in a second. First I need to say something about Campbell’s direction. It’s not just uninteresting or boring or predictable--adjectives to describe David Arnold’s atrocious score--Campbell’s direction is actually a new step in DVD-market mediocrity. I sat and watched scenes composed for people’s HDTV’s. Sony HDTV’s, of course, since Casino Royale is a two and a half hour advertisement for Sony productions. Campbell actually repeats certain scenes--ones to humanize Bond--from Goldeneye, lifts them straight out. Except Goldeneye was technically competent.

I guess I can’t escape the performances. Eva Green is awful, Mads Mikkelsen is amusingly awful, and Jeffrey Wright is unspeakably bad. It’s a new level of terrible from Wright, who manages to give the same performance over and over again, but worse each time.

The writing is something special. It manages to bore to new heights. James Bond isn’t the film’s central character for much of the film, he’s the subject, which is not a working arrangement for something known as a... James Bond film. This distance serves to introduce the audience to a fifty-year old character. It’s quite useful in wasting time. I kept wondering if I could say the film has twenty endings, but instead it has no ending for quite a while. Casino Royale breaks the traditional three act structure and replaces it with nonsense. Campbell doesn’t have the directorial chops to work it, Craig’s fine but he’s not a miracle worker--he just keeps his head above water in a drowning pool--so it goes on and on and on. At least if it had been a trick ending, it would have been bad and funny, instead it’s just bad.

James Bond films have always been well-reviewed, at least since I’ve known about movie reviews. The distaste for them comes later--I remember Dalton being well-reviewed for example and there were astoundingly positive reviews for the worst of the Brosnan films. I didn’t to go Casino Royale hoping it would suck so I could be bemused at the state of artistic appreciation in the world today. I went to be amused by stunts and explosions and I didn’t even get those.

Something needs to be said about the terrible song, but hopefully some else can say it. I’m bored with thinking about Casino Royale already.

Wait, one last thing. Sony appears--from the trailers I saw for their new films, from this film--to be making the worst mainstream films today, which is quite a thing to be able to say.

ⓏⒺⓇⓄ

Dec 5, 2006 10:18 AM
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Post by James »

Casino Royale, I’m sure it’s more pretentious supporters would say, serves to deconstruct said trivialities, which leaves the film empty.
Quite.
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Re: The Stop Button

Post by Dr. No »

Blowfeld wrote: Campbell’s direction is actually a new step in DVD-market mediocrity. I sat and watched scenes composed for people’s HDTV’s. Sony HDTV’s, of course, since Casino Royale is a two and a half hour advertisement for Sony productions. Campbell actually repeats certain scenes--ones to humanize Bond--from Goldeneye, lifts them straight out. Except Goldeneye was technically competent.
Wow, low blow , (direct to) DVD-market mediocrity.
Campbell is a hit or miss director, does well in one then screws up another , CR wasn't his best, but not his worst. Someone said the second unit directors did the most interesting work in CR not Campbell.
Don't know if its true/..
Blowfeld wrote: I guess I can’t escape the performances. Eva Green is awful, Mads Mikkelsen is amusingly awful, and Jeffrey Wright is unspeakably bad. It’s a new level of terrible from Wright, who manages to give the same performance over and over again, but worse each time.

The writing is something special. It manages to bore to new heights.

Casino Royale breaks the traditional three act structure and replaces it with nonsense. Campbell doesn’t have the directorial chops to work it, Craig’s fine but he’s not a miracle worker--he just keeps his head above water in a drowning pool--so it goes on and on and on. At least if it had been a trick ending, it would have been bad and funny, instead it’s just bad.
Some fair criticism, then the ending was a bad part for me. At least in the book it made sense.

Blowfeld wrote: James Bond films have always been well-reviewed, at least since I’ve known about movie reviews. The distaste for them comes later--I remember Dalton being well-reviewed for example and there were astoundingly positive reviews for the worst of the Brosnan films. I didn’t to go Casino Royale hoping it would suck so I could be bemused at the state of artistic appreciation in the world today. I went to be amused by stunts and explosions and I didn’t even get those.


Something needs to be said about the terrible song, but hopefully some else can say it. I’m bored with thinking about Casino Royale already.
Damning, I wonder how many felt the same.
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Re: The Stop Button

Post by The Sweeney »

Dr. No wrote:Damning, I wonder how many felt the same.
The few members on here...... :wink:
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Post by carl stromberg »

I didn’t to go Casino Royale hoping it would suck so I could be bemused at the state of artistic appreciation in the world today.
That sums it up for me. I expected to watch Casino Royale and proved wrong. I thought it was awful.
Bring back Bond!
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Post by Lady Elaine Fairchild »

Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
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Post by Skywalker »

Lady Elaine Fairchild wrote:Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
Welcome to the forum Lady Elaine. Your views are shared by many on this site.
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Post by Captain Nash »

Skywalker wrote:
Lady Elaine Fairchild wrote:Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
Welcome to the forum Lady Elaine. Your views are shared by many on this site.
But not all!
I found Daniel Craig to be a popular choice with every female I have spoken to about the subject of Casino Royale.
But to describe them (the five previous actors) as 'yum' is just creepy.
Welcome to the mad house all the same.
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Post by The Sweeney »

Skywalker wrote:
Lady Elaine Fairchild wrote:Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
Welcome to the forum Lady Elaine. Your views are shared by many on this site.
But not shared by the rest of planet earth..... :wink:

Welcome to the site.
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Post by Skywalker »

Captain Nash wrote:
Skywalker wrote:
Lady Elaine Fairchild wrote:Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
Welcome to the forum Lady Elaine. Your views are shared by many on this site.
I found Daniel Craig to be a popular choice with every female I have spoken to about the subject of Casino Royale.
.
:lol: You don't know many women then. :wink:
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Post by Captain Nash »

What is it Bond say's to Fallon in LTK, when asked how he got the signature gun?
Oh yeah. Pis... :wink:
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Post by Dr. No »

Welcome Lady Elaine!
first a count now a lady, looks like we're moving on up. :)
You've already met Captain Nash and The Sweeney, who not only are self appointed purest, no man shall know The Bond but through them ;), but also claim to speak for all fans and apparently now all women.
Don't mind them my lady, they are not but knaves her for your amusement :lol:

PS She didn't say the five precious Bonds were "yum", did she? ;)
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Post by The Sweeney »

Dr. No wrote: You've already met Captain Nash and The Sweeney, who not only are self appointed purest, no man shall know The Bond but through them ;), but also claim to speak for all fans and apparently now all women.
No, we are Bond fans the same as everyone else on here....but with slightly better taste. :wink:
Dr. No wrote:
Don't mind them my lady, they are not but knaves her for your amusement :lol:
Wrong again. We are here to bring balance to the force! 8)
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Post by Captain Nash »

The Sweeney wrote:
Dr. No wrote: You've already met Captain Nash and The Sweeney, who not only are self appointed purest, no man shall know The Bond but through them ;), but also claim to speak for all fans and apparently now all women.
No, we are Bond fans the same as everyone else on here....but with slightly better taste. :wink:
Dr. No wrote:
Don't mind them my lady, they are not but knaves her for your amusement :lol:
Wrong again. We are here to bring balance to the force! 8)
Right on Guv'nor. :wink:
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Post by Alessandra »

carl stromberg wrote:
I didn’t to go Casino Royale hoping it would suck so I could be bemused at the state of artistic appreciation in the world today.
That sums it up for me. I expected to watch Casino Royale and proved wrong. I thought it was awful.
Haha, just found this thread. And this is exactly how I felt, too. Well except thankfully I didn't pay to see it so didn't throw money away (I have a friend who owns movie theaters so was treated to private showing when he watched the movie for the first time too, which of course also meant I saw it when it was released, instead of way later per usual Italian habits.) I was very disappointed when I read the script so thought there wasn't much room for improvement, yet I hoped I would be proved wrong. But no. I thought it was awful, too. Definitely the most boring (NON) James Bond movie ever. And if even my dad, who certainly isn't hung up on looks, said "this dude is Bond?! He looks nothing like Bond! I thought he was the bad guy!" then things were pretty d**n bad. He fell asleep through CR :lol: (I'm not kidding) Said he's never seen such a boring Bond movie all his life, and he's been a Bond fan all his adult life, so... I think CR was WAY overrated, especially by critics, save the sane Italian one and another three that he mentioned in his piece LOL. But really, looking back CR wasn't good at all either. QoS, well as we say in Italian "it's like shooting on the red cross". But I truly expected CR to be a way better film, and thought I could enjoy it regardless. I didn't.
Sums it up
I have gone opening night to all of the Bond adventures since Moonraker. Casino Royale is the only disappointment.
Previous Bonds Sean Connery,Timothy Dalton ,Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan may not be "Fleming's Bond" but they were such agreeable actors to watch, yum, that no one much minded.
That's right too. Whether they were or weren't Fleming's Bond is debatable, but it's absolutely true that they were such agreeable actors to watch that no one much minded. Unlike what happens with Craig. Oh and... PLEASE COME BACK if you're still reading? I see you were scared away, but... you wouldn't be the only girl around now, since Katie and I are here, plus BJ's girlfriend... Bond SO needs some female critics here.

Oh and by the way. Sorry to say this, but NO Daniel Craig doesn't score big with women. Not nearly as big as ANY of his predecessors did, except maybe for Lazenby. This tale about Craig being a big hit with women is valid A)for England only since that's the only place where he has a decent female following (and even so, nothing sensational) and B)built by his fans based on some polls. That coincidentally were mostly carried out by UK media outlets?

I'm serious, I've got nothing against him personally but it irks me as a woman to read all these "oh women love him!" statements from his fans, that based on how instead women react to him worldwide, and not just in the UK, is simply not true. UK women certainly have a far better reaction to him than women in the rest of the world, but as anyone can see they're not nearly enough to make him "a big hit with women". Sure as hell he isn't a big hit with women in either Italy, France, Spain or the US. Which clearly defeats the "big hit" logic. US women and Bond fans alike very well expressed their thought with QoS. It did horrid at the box office there. And CR didn't do much better in absolute terms, except its (declared) production costs were so much lower than QoS that it managed to cover them with US box office, even if barely.
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Re: The Stop Button

Post by shaken not stirred »

Spot on review, that's how I felt about cr, when the car chase scene came around the film had a chance to be classic bond for that part but craig wrote the car off the min he drove it, I want bond to fight back not be a complete wimp like the reboots made him and a thug.

Craig looks like one of the evil nazis in indiana jones in his bond films all he's missing is the scar and evil laugh.

Again Craig's a good actor and was awesome in layer cake but he doesn't fit bond.

Off topic a new drama on bbc1 called zen pretty much fits classic bond description ie a guy who blends in with his enemies, a womaniser, drives cool cars, except he's a detective and also looks a bit like bond, it's a shame that tv and films that do these elements that love the classic bond of old do it better then the films that used to make it the standard to be like this until they bourned the series with a reboot and complete 360 change on the franchises character and welcome to the forums Lady Elaine Fairchild :cheers: .
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Re: The Stop Button

Post by katied »

Zen sounds really interesting, hopefully it'll air here in the States at some point. On BBC America, maybe?
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Re: The Stop Button

Post by Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry »

shaken not stirred wrote: Craig looks like one of the evil nazis in indiana jones in his bond films all he's missing is the scar and evil laugh.

.
Craig reminds me of Ron Lacey:

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Re: The Stop Button

Post by Alessandra »

OMG that CREEP from Indiana Jones! Craig does look like the evil guy instead of Bond, but he still looks way better than the creep IMO :lol: Not that it takes much :lol:
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