Casino Royale [UMD for PSP]
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Crispin Bonham Carter, Jesper Christensen, John Chancer, Tom Chadbon, Urbano BarberiniBrand: Son
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Korean (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.78:1
Running Time: 144 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-03-13
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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Movie Reviews of Casino Royale [UMD for PSP]
Movie Review: ROYALE Flush
Summary: 5 Stars
CASINO ROYALE is a reboot in the finest sense of the word. It picks up the slouching James Bond series and not only stands it up straight - it also works it out and beats it until it can do more pushups than Sylvester Stallone on steroids. After the 20th James Bond screen adventure, DIE ANOTHER DAY, was released in 2002 (forty years after the first 007 thriller, DR. NO), it seemed as though the series could run for a while longer on pure popcorn entertainment, though the dwindling originality and the increasingly stereotypical nature of the films was becoming obvious. Still, it wasn't clear just how near death the franchise was until CASINO ROYALE.
A brief history lesson: in 1961, Ian Fleming, the author of the best-selling James Bond novels, sold the screen rights to his novels to producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. There was one novel that Saltzman and Broccoli couldn't get the rights to, however: CASINO ROYALE, the first James Bond novel. Fleming had sold the rights to that novel years earlier when it was adapted as an episode of the American TV series CLIMAX! (starring Barry Nelson as James Bond, with Peter O'Toole as Le Chiffre!); it was also used as the basis for the insane 1967 spy spoof starring Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, and David Niven as James Bond (yes, all three played James Bond).
Flash forward 38 years: Sony now owns the rights to CASINO ROYALE, while MGM owns the rights to all the other Bond books. Flash forward a few years more: Sony buys MGM, thus giving current Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli the chance to finally adapt the first ever James Bond adventure for the big screen. Reacting to fan criticism over the more recent Bond adventures' over-the-top "world domination" storylines and ridiculous gadgetry, Wilson and Broccoli decided to take a page from BATMAN BEGINS' book and "reboot" the franchise. They brought in Paul Haggis, the Academy Award-winning writer of CRASH and MILLION DOLLAR BABY, to co-write the screenplay, and in an extremely controversial move, they released Pierce Brosnan and hired Daniel Craig to play 007.
The fan complaints were too numerous to list. He's blonde! He looks haggard! He's not suave, he's just cold! He's going to be the next George Lazenby!
Then they saw the film.
CASINO ROYALE isn't a prequel, as it's set in the present, but it is a new beginning for the forty-years-old-plus series. In CASINO ROYALE, James Bond has just received his Double-O status; to become a Double-O, you must have had to kill two people in the line of duty, as explained in a pre-credits sequence stylishly filmed in black and white. Bond makes a critical error chasing down a gun-for-hire, and is told by an enraged M. (Judi Dench, reprising her role from Pierce Brosnan's Bond adventures) to stick his head in the sand somewhere. As we all know, though, James Bond never takes a vacation; instead, he travels to the Bahamas, where he follows the trail of the gun-for-hire - a trail which leads him to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a notorious banker for the world's terrorists. Bond goes undercover to compete in a high-stakes poker tournament at the "Casino Royale". His mission: bankrupt Le Chiffre. If this were Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, or Pierce Brosnan, you'd say "No problem!". But Daniel Craig's Bond is a far more realistic and human Bond; nothing comes as easy to him as it did to the previous 007s.
As a big fan of Ian Fleming's novels - CASINO ROYALE in particular - I had low expectations for this film. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the theater and realized that CASINO ROYALE wasn't simply the best Bond film in five years, ten years, twenty years even: it's the best Bond film ever made. Daniel Craig surpasses even the god of 007 actors, Sean Connery, whom I previously thought was unsurpassable. Craig has virtually nothing in common with any previous Bond actor, but he is precisely the 007 of Fleming's novels. He exudes smoldering masculinity, but in a way less egotistic than the previous Bond actors. His Bond makes errors, as established in a brilliant chase scene at the start of the film; he doesn't always win, and he lets his temper get the best of him far too often. He's still a master of knockout one-liners, though, and as Le Chiffre remarks during one of the film's more unforgettable sequences, he has taken very good care of his body.
Eva Green is the Bond girl, and what an unusual Bond girl she is; attractive in a classy sort of way, wise, and just as intriguing as Bond himself. Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre is a despicable villain, with a damaged tear duct which frequently leaks blood. He at first seems like the stereotypical over-the-top bad guy, but by the end of the film he becomes quite a menacing figure. Giancarlo Giannini plays an amiable Rene Mathis, a character who featured prominently in a few of Fleming's books but makes his first screen appearance here, while Jeffrey Wright plays the first black Felix Leiter, Bond's best friend, who hasn't appeared in a Bond flick since 1987's THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. I was never riveted by Judi Dench's M in the Brosnan films, but she truly shines in CASINO ROYALE.
Along with exemplary performances from the cast, there's a frankly epic screenplay by Paul Haggis with Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, who've written all the Bond films since THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. This script is very well-structured, and combines all the successful elements of previous Bond films while remaining down-to-earth; I'd imagine Haggis deserves most of the praise for this. There's tender romance - yes, folks, real romance, not just your standard 007 sex scenes - laugh-out-loud comedy, and the most thoroughly riveting action sequences I've ever seen. The script has little in common with the book on which it's based; however, if you've never read one of Fleming's Bond books and want to know what they're like, CASINO ROYALE is the closest thing we've ever seen to Ian Fleming's 007. Some of the scenes and lines from that book are included, though, especially the infamous "torture scene", which - though considerably more tame in the film version - will still leave most men cringing as they exit the theater.
The first time I began to have faith in this film during its controversy-heavy production was when I learned that Martin Campbell was directing it. Campbell also directed Pierce Brosnan's debut as 007, GOLDENEYE, an utterly superb entry in the series that revitalized the franchise in much the same way that CASINO ROYALE does. CASINO ROYALE is the stylish, thrilling Bond adventure that I've been dreaming of for years, and that's due in very large part to Campbell's directing. He likes to use close camera angles, which work well in adding that "human" aspect to the the frequently superhuman character of 007; it feels like we're in the action with Bond, and adds an element of intensity and unpredictability.
David Arnold's music is typically loud throughout most of the film. I've always found the criticism of Arnold's Bond scores to be far too harsh; he mimicks the sound of John Barry's classic scores while adding a dash of his own style, and he does it well. I'm not quite sure what to make of his music for CASINO ROYALE, though. A large part of it is your stereotypical James Bond soundtrack - shrill, booming horns with the occasional techno line thrown in for good measure. However, some of it - namely the love theme for James Bond and Vesper Lynd, Eva Green's character - is truly beautiful, and some of the finest music the series has ever had. Audioslave's Chris Cornell contributes the film's theme, "You Know My Name". The title's stupid, and the song's nearly as stupid; it's an odd alternative rock composition that just doesn't belong in the film. It does work, however, in that it takes your mind off the absurd credits sequence.
There's as much in CASINO ROYALE to enrage Bond purists as there is to please them. For one thing, the film does NOT open with the trademark gunbarrel; instead, a music-less gunbarrel pops up moments before the main title sequence. To make matters worse, the legendary "James Bond Theme" doesn't pop up until the end credits - because, of course, in this film James Bond is not the suave agent we know and love until that point. He doesn't say "Bond ... James Bond" until well into the film, and when questioned as to whether he wants his martini shaked or stirred, the irritated new Double-O shoots back, "Does it look like I give a damn?" And, as if that's not bad enough, neither Q nor Moneypenny are even mentioned. That's right - no gunbarrel, no "Bond ... James Bond", no theme song, no shaken-not-stirred martinis, no Q, and no Moneypenny. But you know what? I couldn't be happier. That's all perfectly fitting for what's chronologically the first James Bond adventure, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
If you loved the intense realism of GOLDENEYE, if you loved the epic love story of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, if you loved the non-stop action of DIE ANOTHER DAY, if you loved the grit of LICENCE TO KILL, if you loved the suspense and thrills of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - then this is the film you've been waiting for. Not since FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or perhaps the seemingly ultimate Bond picture, GOLDFINGER, has the series been so grounded in realism, and never before has a Bond film been so intelligent, so fun, and so compellingly-structured. Daniel Craig is here to stay, and if the producers can come near matching the quality of CASINO ROYALE on BOND 22, then James Bond will continue to return for years to come.
Summary of Casino Royale [UMD for PSP]
Is Daniel Craig the best BOND ever?!?Item Type: Unknown Movie Type
Item Rating: PG13
Street Date: 03/13/07
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
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