![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Oh, James!
Nov. 18th, 2006 02:49 pmLast night ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_storyteller_ took me to see Casino Royale. I highly recommend it, even if you're not usually a James Bond fan.
Because this is not your usual James Bond movie. No gadgets. No big car chases. No cars with remote control, missles, or radar. No Q. No Moneypenny. Bond does not have to save the world. His enemy doesn't use elaborate death traps or have a henchman who could have stepped out of a comic book.
This is a stripped-down, almost-the-real-world Bond. He's real man with human failings but possessing an incredible will and intelligence. And charisma, yes. But he doesn't flash it around like Brosnan did (as much as I like Brosnan). This is a "warrior for the working day" as the Bard would say.
There are some rough action sequences with bare-knuckle brutality, but it's refreshing after the explosions and stunt shows of the past. In fact, the best stunt was performed by a free runner, who -- during a long chase sequence -- demonstrated just how agile and strong the human body can be when trained.
It's also nice to see real emotion in a Bond film. The scene in which he deals with how Vespa copes with the aftermath of a violent event is one of the most quietly moving scenes I've seen in any movie in quite some time. And it may well be unprecedented in the Bond oeuvre.
And Judi Dench is, as always, a treat to behold: tough as nails on one hand, but with a heart she refuses to indulge. Her "M" is a quintessential Queen of Swords.
It's not just worth seeing, we might just go see it again.
_storyteller_ took me to see Casino Royale. I highly recommend it, even if you're not usually a James Bond fan.Because this is not your usual James Bond movie. No gadgets. No big car chases. No cars with remote control, missles, or radar. No Q. No Moneypenny. Bond does not have to save the world. His enemy doesn't use elaborate death traps or have a henchman who could have stepped out of a comic book.
This is a stripped-down, almost-the-real-world Bond. He's real man with human failings but possessing an incredible will and intelligence. And charisma, yes. But he doesn't flash it around like Brosnan did (as much as I like Brosnan). This is a "warrior for the working day" as the Bard would say.
There are some rough action sequences with bare-knuckle brutality, but it's refreshing after the explosions and stunt shows of the past. In fact, the best stunt was performed by a free runner, who -- during a long chase sequence -- demonstrated just how agile and strong the human body can be when trained.
It's also nice to see real emotion in a Bond film. The scene in which he deals with how Vespa copes with the aftermath of a violent event is one of the most quietly moving scenes I've seen in any movie in quite some time. And it may well be unprecedented in the Bond oeuvre.
And Judi Dench is, as always, a treat to behold: tough as nails on one hand, but with a heart she refuses to indulge. Her "M" is a quintessential Queen of Swords.
It's not just worth seeing, we might just go see it again.
