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Tuesday, 19 December 2006 16:32 |
By MATT SWIFT
Daniel Craigës debut as James Bond in "Casino Royale" easily surpasses expectations as he delivers a white-knuckle thrill ride that brings vigor back to the Bond franchise and the possibility of new directions.
Craig furnishes an emotional volatility to the role that is both recognizably human and just plain more interesting than his recent predecessors. Internet buzz killers who have been ragging on him at www/craignotbond.com must feel, now, a little silly.
In
the latest Bond installment , rated PG-13, the violence is rapid and
more personal. There are no gadgets ÇƒÓ in fact, there is no Q, nor is
there any Moneypenny. There is just gritty action that revives a stale
"franchise" that had been relying on bigger stunts and sillier gadgets
to disguise the fact that it had run out of ideas.
In "Casino
Royale," directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye), we first encounter
the new Bond pursuing a bomb-maker through Madagascar, leaping from
construction cranes, driving a bull dozer, bouncing off roof tops and
darting around like a wild animal. Bond is now a young, unseasoned,
reckless and undisciplined agent, who has only recently ÇƒÓ and
reluctantly ÇƒÓ been elevated to double-0 status.
After the
whirlwind chase that ultimately leads to the Nambutu Embassy ÇƒÓ with
Bond shockingly shooting his assailant, Agent 007 takes it upon himself
to follow a lead to the Bahamas (a nod to "Dr. No") and discovers that
all the clues point to Le Chiffre, played by Danish actor, Mads
Mikkelsen. Le Chiffre is a nasty financer who has money ties to
terrorist organizations and a tear duct that weeps blood.
Bondës new
nemesis is planning to raise funds in a high-stakes poker game at the
Le Casino Royale in Montenegro. Judi Dench reprising her role for the
fifth time as M, Bondës cold-hearted boss, positions 007 in the
competition to try to beat Le Chiffre at his own game.
Bond is
bankrolled by the sexy Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green, a British
treasury operative sent to stake 007 at the poker tables. As these two
play off against eachother, the feisty dialogue moves from heated
flirtation to a full-blown love affair.
Though Craig and Green work well together, the development of the Bond-Vesper romance does make the movie drag at points.
The action next
takes us to Venice, Italy, with a frantic shootout inside a collapsing
canal building that is a little too dramatic, leading to the confusing
and shocking death of one of the main characters.
This Bond film
is unlike any other in the series. For example, when Bond orders his
emblematic martini the bartender asks; "Shaken or stirred?" Craig
delivers the answer straight-up and bone-dry: "Do I look like I give a
damn?"
Indeed, the new
James Bond is very different from his polished predecessors. He is a
real man who struggles and suffers inside and out.
Remember Timothy
Dalton, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan and how suave, dashing and
freshly bathed they always seemed? Well, those days are over. The new
007 is full of blood, dirt and gunshots to the face.
Overall, the film was exciting and surprisingly fresh. However, with a running time of 144 minutes, it was a little too long.
The movieës last
sequence ends with the legendary Bond theme, which was, to my
amazement, missing throughout the film. In the spirit of Bond films,
the plot parts with nothing resolved, leaving you wanting more and
waiting breathlessly for the next installment.
ï
Matt Swift, a freshman at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, works for the Daily Planet.
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