Casino Royale reviews

[James]

What on earth were those critics going on about? I watched Casino Royale and found it an average/slightly dull action film. I stress 'action' film bcause it didn't seem like a James Bond film.

[Dr. No]

No for my money it wasn’t Bond. below average action film compared to recent movies. WTF is with Hollywood and defibulators? Was it a requirement for 2006 movies to have one? The most creative was MI3 the best placed & used was Crank. Both were sorry films. Sad to see JB following blindly as third rate hack mimicking action films.
I do wish they had kept baccarat. For me (in the past movies) it was exotic and worth watching.

[X3C]

A lot of so called 'good reviews' and A+++++++++++ ratings came from the critics two weeks before the official premiere of the movie...

I saw some news articles as early as october 18, 2006 saying that 99.5% of so called 'movie critics' in UK & US said that the movie is great and they give it a two thumbs up, saying it will be the best movie of 2006... some genius critics even said that anti craig as bond sites including all of his critics will perish and will feel that they have made a huge mistake if they see the movie.

hmmm... where did they watch the movie? as early as October 18?

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Then of course, there came more so-called 'Greatest Movie In Film History' quotes from world class critics after the films release.

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For people not familiar with bond, for first time 'bond' movie viewers, self proclaimed so-called greatest bond fan and self proclaimed so-called uber Fleming-nauts. This is not just the greatest bond film but the greatest film made in film history...

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do you agree? If you ask me, the answer is a big NO. Dr. NO.

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[Dr. No]

The reviews didn’t reflect the movie by a long shot.
IT wasn’t Bond and it wasn’t a spy flick. There have been some good spy flicks recently to me CR didn’t measure up.
Forgetting about it being a Bond movie, being a good movie doesn’t work for me either. Too many holes in the story. And the ending didn’t pay off. I was left feeling the movie was completely pointless.
I’ve read a couple of fleming’s 007 books, I didn’t get the Bond feeling from craig. Bond from the books was a cool customer, IMHO Connery came the closest to him.
with M and 07’s relationship and the tracking device it was like a XXX film.

Oh I forgot superman was another 2006 moive with defib scene.

[carl stromberg]

I think people liked it because it wasn't a "Bond" movie.

There was obviously a market for a generic action film with a musclebound Daniel Craig doing his tough man routine.

Casino Royale was a million miles away from Bond. Those who liked Casino Royale are not really fans of the other Bond films post-On Her Majesty's Secret Service: just look at some of the comments on the CommanderBond.net and MI6 forums! One idiot on the CommanderBond.net even said he can't watch any of the other Bond films because Casino Royale was so good .

[Tubes]

Oh absolutely. Daniel Craig is a disgrace to the Bonds that came before him. Why on earth did EON cast a that ugly short blond guy instead of better actors like Hugh Jackman.

That's isn't the only problem, CR as a whole is filled with errors. I mean, Bond's first mission is supposed to take place before Dr. No, which would be around the 1950's. Then why the use of cell phones? CR screws up much of the careful continuity of the Bond series...

Wait, you guys are all serious about this stuff. You mean this isn't a brilliant joke?

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You stuck up fanboys! You can't accept change, can you! You cannot accept the fact that CR is a HUGE hit and that Craig's Bond is hear to stay. We won! YOU LOST! AHA! And now you retreat to this pathetic backwater forum to agree with eachother that the world is delusional.

Oh, and CR isn't a million miles away from Bond. It's as close as we ever have been to him.

[carl stromberg]

Welcome to the forum Tubes! I'm a big fan of your work on the MI6 forum; I didn't think you would appear on CraignotBond!

You will be treated with respect on this forum. We want debate unlike on MI6 and CommanderBond where those who criticize Casino Royale are made to feel unwelcome. Indeed, you could say that MI6 is a forum for "fanboys" who agree with each other!

I hope you enjoy your stay.

[Tubes]

CraignotBond is based around the slagging off of a single actor because he is "unfit" for the role. I find it hard to respect anyone associated with that website.

But, you DID manage to use phpbb for your forum code. I guess that's something in your favor....

And, considering the numerous arguments over at MI6, I can safely say that noone at MI6 agrees with each other.

[James]

MI6 are not exactly immune to slagging off actors. Presumably this is perfectly acceptable as long as the said actor isn't called 'Daniel Craig'.

[Tubes]

More like it's acceptable so long as it's not about asanine things like hair color or height or craggyness.

[Harvey Wallbanger]

Take away hair color or height or craggyness..

So ya can’t criticize Craig after all.

Casino Royale sucked! for me it was nothing to do with Craig.
Have to admit it always was the actor as Bond who made a movie work. The script and supporting cast hardly mattered. Nice when a good crew came along, but nobody went to see the story, we went to see James Bond!

Royale was too long and was too stuck on itself. There is an expectation about the it being the first Bond adventure, the problem is it didn’t stand on its own. Leaning too heavily on the past to make us care about the "Bond" character. It should have started out bolder, maybe with a training mission like TLD. Bond proving his metal, being promoted, and moving on to an assignment that might be over his head.

Bad points-
Copying every action movie out there.
Did little to develop the Mathis and Felix characters.
The terrorist were too generic. Why not add a bit of realism..
Card game dragged on.
Craig’s hair cut.

Craig took a job that was too good to pass up. Was he right for the role? the second movie will tell. No actor was ever in the grove until their second outing.
Can’t blame him because his first film was a dog.

[Tubes]

I thought the card game was well shot and very tense. It's different from other Bond card games because the earlier games focused mostly on the dialogue between Bond and his opponent. CR focused on the cards and Craig/Le Chiffre trying to outbluff eachother.

I wouldn't say that CR copied every action movie out there. The Parkour sequence is very unique (yeah, yeah, rant all you want about District B13) and the mano a mano combat has it's own distinctive flavor. I think part of the problem isn't that the sequences are generic, but David Arnold's music is, for the most part, generic action noise. There are several great moments around that, but, for the most part, it's the same music we heard at the end of the Carver Printing Press fight back in 1997.

Anyways, I think (and I might be the lone person here who does) that CR is a brilliant action movie, well deserving of all the praise critics/fans/Joe Six Pack lavished on it. Far and away the best wide release movie in a year of dissapointments.

[Bodie/Doyale]

Oh you can debate over at Mi6, there's just a line where it becomes childish and petty when people start creating fake stories and hate campaigns .......

[The Sweeney]

A lot of so called 'good reviews' and A+++++++++++ ratings came from the critics two weeks before the official premiere of the movie...

I saw some news articles as early as october 18, 2006 saying that 99.5% of so called 'movie critics' in UK & US said that the movie is great and they give it a two thumbs up, saying it will be the best movie of 2006... some genius critics even said that anti craig as bond sites including all of his critics will perish and will feel that they have made a huge mistake if they see the movie.

hmmm... where did they watch the movie? as early as October 18?

I thought the press get preview screening weeks before the film comes out? They do in the UK anyway, hence why there were many positive reviews prior to the premiere release date. It always happens with every big film, and CR is no different.

[Skywalker]

I thought the card game was well shot and very tense .

Probably the worst part of the film. What about that annoying commentary. Simply ruined any potential tension build up.

Anyways, I think (and I might be the lone person here who does) that CR is a brilliant action movie, well deserving of all the praise critics/fans/Joe Six Pack lavished on it. Far and away the best wide release movie in a year of dissapointments.

Disagree.

[Ian]

In the novel Casino Royale, Bond is 29. Craig is not only much older than Fleming's original character, he looks older than Brosnan! Is Daniel Craig a good actor? Yes, most certainly, as is Tom Hanks, as is Dustin Hoffman, etc. But is Tom Hanks right for James Bond? Of course not! But Tom Hanks could act like James Bond and probably make a pretty thrilling Bond movie, but despite his skills as an actor, not for one minute would the audience ever believe that Tom Hanks is James Bond. Which is why I don't buy Craig as Bond, no matter how hard they try to sell it.

Change is never easy, and it gets harder to accept change as we get older. While Bond has always changed with the times, he has often set an example as well. Now JAmes BOnd is simply JAson BOurne(sic) with an English accent. A dumbed down version of a Bond imitator! Perhaps Bond is now, sadly, a reflection of what we as a society are becoming. A classless, crass bunch of slobs playing Texas Hold'Em, who don't give a d**n how our martinis are mixed. Ian Fleming told us the REAL Bond plays baccarat, not poker, and even at age 29 in Fleming's Casino Royale, James Bond cared about the craft of his martini and gave the bartender very specific instructions on how to mix it properly. He also did not need the help of ANYONE to choose an appropriate dinner jacket.

It's interesting that Sylvestor Stallone can be Rocky at age 60, and now it looks as though Harrison Ford will be Indiana Jones one more time at age 65; it almost makes Pierce Brosnan seem too young to be Bond again at 53! Is this new Bond TRUELY a reflection of our times? If EON is going to follow instead of lead, what a shame they have decided to ignore the example set by Rocky and Indiana Jones and instead, have used Jason Bourne as the new Bond prototype. Daniel Craig himself, incredibly, referred to James Bond as "the man we all love to hate." Given the current set of circumstances, I couldn't agree more.

[X3C]

An "A++" review said that the movie is excellent and describes it as James Bond with a Touch of Jason Bourne (Particularly Bourne Supremacy).

Like the previous post said, the new 'James Bond' is a copy cat. Just Another Generic Action Hero.

[The Sweeney]

An "A++" review said that the movie is excellent and describes it as James Bond with a Touch of Jason Bourne (Particularly Bourne Supremacy).

Like the previous post said, the new 'James Bond' is a copy cat. Just Another Generic Action Hero.

Or, another way of looking at this is Bourne originally copied from Bond (not the crappy Brosnan imposter version, I'm talking about the Fleming Bond, the early Connery Bond) and now Bond is rightfully taking its ownership back again.

Just a thought....

[Jack Wade]

LOL. Reading these posts reminds me of how the majority of you know absolutely nothing about the movie industry and/or James Bond.

Casino Royale is a great movie because it's realistic and shows the human element of James Bond. I know you Brosnan fanboys are accustomed to seeing a pretty boy robot driving around in invisible cars with a senseless action piece every 10 minutes. Sorry, but that's not what Fleming's Bond is about.

CR was also critically acclaimed because it brought the series back from a potential creative demise. Anyone with half a brain can tell you that had Eon decided to contine in the light of DAD with a bunch of camp action and no plot that the series would have spun into its own critical demise. Any professional critic can tell you that... and you are not professional critics. I believe they know more about film than you.

[James]

I think realistic films like Casino Royale are the way to go. It was very realistic the way he climbed up that crane, jumped off onto a steel-girder , flew around on tanker trucks like Spider-Man, cracked jokes after being drugged, had a Hospital in the dashboard of his car, quickly recovered after being whacked in the cobblers, dodged a thousand bullets in an Embassy, beat up numerous guards who were twice the size of our new economy Bond, turned the heads of two planted women who looked young enough to be his daughters, held his breath underwater for ten minutes etc, etc,...