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Rotten Watch: Casino Royale
- Thread starter DMczaf
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TJ Bennett
TJ Hooker
As a fan of both the novels and the films I'm happy to say that Casino Royale is easily the best Bond event since The Living Daylights. I doubted Craig from the beginning but I'm almost completely sold on him now. Almost all the changes from the book worked nicely. As many have mentioned before, Vesper looked absolutely stunning while at the bathroom mirror. She was a solid Bond girl and had nice chemistry with Craig, most notably on the train. Although I supported him earlier in this thread, I think it's time they went with another composer instead of David Arnold. If I had it my way they'd just hire Michael Giacchino to do the music since his work on the Incredibles is the best Bond music since John Barry stepped down.
One thing, how does this movie not have more complaints about the way fight sequences are edited? I thought it was much worse and less effective at bringing you into a fight than Batman Begins. Or maybe it does, I haven't read this whole thread. Doesn't really retract from the film too much though.
Hm, disagree with this quite a bit. I thought it started slow narratively, though heavy on action - and got a lot better after they got to the casino. So maybe it felt like a different screenwriter the 2nd half, but the movie's strength definitely seems towards the end. Stuff like the hectic airport scene was the bit I disliked the most. Cheap action music and what was supposed to be tons of energy, and I wasn't into it at all. The 2nd half rocked though. I guess around the time Eva showed up really, rather than the casino.
Fallout-NL said:
Hm, disagree with this quite a bit. I thought it started slow narratively, though heavy on action - and got a lot better after they got to the casino. So maybe it felt like a different screenwriter the 2nd half, but the movie's strength definitely seems towards the end. Stuff like the hectic airport scene was the bit I disliked the most. Cheap action music and what was supposed to be tons of energy, and I wasn't into it at all. The 2nd half rocked though. I guess around the time Eva showed up really, rather than the casino.
J2 Cool said:
Eva's appeareance in the second act definitely change the chemistry of the movie. If you notice the first act was all about the typical Bond movie, though, I thought CR action, hand-to-hand, brutal combat is way superior than any other action in previous Bond movies.
The second and third acts of the movies are all about the chemistry between Bond and Eva. and they're awesome
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
J2 Cool said:
Hell no.
CajoleJuice
Member
I feel pretty much the complete opposite of you on everything. :lolJ2 Cool said:
MaverickX9
Member
J2 Cool said:
I thought Batman Begin's fight scenes were pretty poorly edited. Especially the last one. It was the standard Hollywood action movie editing style - choppy and quick. I was expecting more from a director like Nolan.
MaverickX9 said:
Well obviously. That's the general concensus. But this was disconcerting without attempting to be. And they went on a long time too while remaining disconcerting. I liked the actual fights, just not how they were filmed, as it bugged me as long as they went on at times. At least Begins was purposely disconcerting and quick.
Speaking strictly hand-to-hand combat, not the action scenes in general btw.
I can't stop listening to the theme song from Casino. At first I was like meh why name the song "You know my name", until I saw the movie and just didn't realize how well the song fit with the movie. Has to be my favorite theme song out of the series, gritty and rough like the movie and thats saying a lot with some great themes to choose.
DarkJediKnight
Member
BlueTsunami said:
Well, you can see Eva in full 1080p high definition glory in Kingdom of Heaven on Blu-Ray. This movie is a must buy for anyone who owns a PS3.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
DarkJediKnight said:Well, you can see Eva in full 1080p high definition glory in Kingdom of Heaven on Blu-Ray. This movie is a must buy for anyone who owns a PS3.
I had realized recently that she was in that movie. Must look shit hot in HD.
You could probably make out her cute freckles in HD much better :blush
Whipped Spartan
Member
Could anyone else tell sony owns MGM?
:lol
:lol
Finally got a chance to see Casino Royale. I'm happy it lives up to its hype. What an incredible movie - it's the best Bond flick since The Living Daylights, and it may surpass it after I've seen it a few more times.
Daniel Craig is the man, no doubt. He plays Bond perfectly. And Eva Green - I <3 her.
Daniel Craig is the man, no doubt. He plays Bond perfectly. And Eva Green - I <3 her.
Glad to hear you loved it Oogami. We're on the same wavelength here. I cant yet bring myself to put it over FRWL and OHMSS, but I have a feeling that with time, I will probably come to think of Casino Royale as the best Bond movie. Who knows, as the true test is time, but I think it is possible.
Solo said:
It's definitely the best action movie I've seen this year (though I won't see The Departed until next year). Of that, there is no doubt. I can't wait to see how they top it with the next one. They definitely need to keep Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, he was great in his small role. Hope Giancarlo Giannini's character can come back too, if possible. :lol
And I certainly hope they keep introducing Bond girls who are more than pretty eye candy - substantive characters like Vesper Lynd are the way to go, IMO.
One thing I didn't understand.
Was Le Chiffre the guy in Venice with the one lens tinted eyeglasses? Didn't look like him at all but perhaps we were supposed to infer that he'd had plastic surgery or something? The other thing is, whatever happened to the boyfriend that Vesper betrayed Bond for?
Ichirou_Oogami said:
No, that was not him. He caught a bullet in the head in the torture room. The dude with the weird glasses was simply some guy from "the organization" blackmailing Vesper, who she recognized when she saw him on the boat.
As for the boyfriend, according to the initial ideas for Bond 22 and 23 (the rough "trilogy" that Craig is signed on for), he will be the villain himself in one or both of those movies.
As for the boyfriend, according to the initial ideas for Bond 22 and 23 (the rough "trilogy" that Craig is signed on for), he will be the villain himself in one or both of those movies.
Also, The Departed is amazing (as Ive already gushed over in that thread
; come on, its Scorsese!), but I wouldnt classify it as an action movie at all though. More of a crime drama/thriller.Solo said:No, that was not him. He caught a bullet in the head in the torture room. The dude with the weird glasses was simply some guy from "the organization" blackmailing Vesper, who she recognized when she saw him on the boat.
As for the boyfriend, according to the initial ideas for Bond 22 and 23 (the rough "trilogy" that Craig is signed on for), he will be the villain himself in one or both of those movies.
Also, The Departed is amazing (as Ive already gushed over in that thread
If that's the case, I hope they'd sign on Eva to play Vesper again to incorporate flashbacks.........nah maybe not, action fans wouldn't buy complicated story....though if it can be done right like Batman Begins
CajoleJuice
Member
whatPetrarca said:
DeathbyVolcano
Banned
CajoleJuice said:
And his list was so good beyond that.
fortified_concept
Banned
Whipped Spartan said:
It's actually strange since Columbia ****ing sucked the last few years. If there's one movie studio I wanted to DIE is Columbia and its shitty movies. What happened?
Bewitched, Stealth, The Legend of Zorro, Grudge, Terminator 3, Bad Boys 2 and the list of shitty movies goes on and on. Seriously how could these guys make a movie as good as Casino Royale?
CajoleJuice
Member
:lol :lol :lolDMczaf said:
fortified_concept
Banned
Solo said:
I think I read somewhere that Casino Royale was the only MGM project that Sony/Columbia made decisions on. I might be wrong but that's what I recall.
soundwave05
Member
Finally saw it last night. Very good movie ... surprisingly serious in tone for a Bond film. Craig definitely brings his own tough/cold style to the character, which I think is probably closer to what Ian Fleming wrote in his books. Some criticisms though:
I had a few issues with the pacing. Especailly the final act, it's like the wheels fall off the bus and the movie kind of skids to the finish line rather than smashing through it.
The plot is a bit too complicated/convulted for its own good as well. I guess the more serious tone also makes you a bit more involved in the story ... which means when the story sometimes gets messy, you notice it a lot more. I didn't like that a lot of key plot points had to be told to the audience (never a good idea) and also the story used cell phones a story crutch way too often. Practically every turn in the story that Bond uncovers is a result of the same "check/use the cell phone" thing.
The product placement is obvious and there's a lot of Sony products .... but really no different from the Brosnan Bond films. It just happens to be Sony products instead of Omega watches or Norelco razors or whatever. I bet Ford (I think that was a Ford) and the Range Rover/Land Rover people paid a pretty penny to get their vehicles in the film also.
Craig again is very good. Eva Green is terrific, though I would have like to have seen her character better developed. Ursula Andress also played Vesper Lynd in the 60s version of Casino Royale (which is so bad it might be good, lol), so there's a little nugget of 007 trivia.
Just as a note, I still feel it's unfair that a lot of people are taking parting shots at Pierce Brosnan. The MGM/EON people are guilty of coasting off Brosnan's success and not giving him good scripts to work with. Although at his current age, Brosnan likely could not have pulled this off (since it's supposed to be Bond's first mission, a younger actor was a better fit) ... it's fair to say he was never given a good script after GoldenEye.
Final verdict ... best Bond film since GoldenEye easily. I think I'd rank GoldenEye as more entertaining because of CR's pacing issues, but otherwise very high marks. I think the fear of losing Brosnan finally made MGM/EON get serious about taking some chances with the tone/content of a Bond film.
I had a few issues with the pacing. Especailly the final act, it's like the wheels fall off the bus and the movie kind of skids to the finish line rather than smashing through it.
The plot is a bit too complicated/convulted for its own good as well. I guess the more serious tone also makes you a bit more involved in the story ... which means when the story sometimes gets messy, you notice it a lot more. I didn't like that a lot of key plot points had to be told to the audience (never a good idea) and also the story used cell phones a story crutch way too often. Practically every turn in the story that Bond uncovers is a result of the same "check/use the cell phone" thing.
The product placement is obvious and there's a lot of Sony products .... but really no different from the Brosnan Bond films. It just happens to be Sony products instead of Omega watches or Norelco razors or whatever. I bet Ford (I think that was a Ford) and the Range Rover/Land Rover people paid a pretty penny to get their vehicles in the film also.
Craig again is very good. Eva Green is terrific, though I would have like to have seen her character better developed. Ursula Andress also played Vesper Lynd in the 60s version of Casino Royale (which is so bad it might be good, lol), so there's a little nugget of 007 trivia.
Just as a note, I still feel it's unfair that a lot of people are taking parting shots at Pierce Brosnan. The MGM/EON people are guilty of coasting off Brosnan's success and not giving him good scripts to work with. Although at his current age, Brosnan likely could not have pulled this off (since it's supposed to be Bond's first mission, a younger actor was a better fit) ... it's fair to say he was never given a good script after GoldenEye.
Final verdict ... best Bond film since GoldenEye easily. I think I'd rank GoldenEye as more entertaining because of CR's pacing issues, but otherwise very high marks. I think the fear of losing Brosnan finally made MGM/EON get serious about taking some chances with the tone/content of a Bond film.
Schattenjäger
Gabriel Knight
saw it a second time and fell in love with it again..
honestly, the only problem i have with the film is the product placement..
they really need to do something about it for future films
and omega was featured in this one too
(i remember him responding with "I wear Omega")
honestly, the only problem i have with the film is the product placement..
they really need to do something about it for future films
and omega was featured in this one too
(i remember him responding with "I wear Omega")
soundwave05
Member
I don't think they can get rid of the product placement ... the suits that pull the strings probably wouldn't be keen on it. They cut a deal with the Ford/Range Rover people I'm pretty sure because they don't get a lot of money from the Aston Martin folks, but they're kind of obligated to use Aston Martin (especailly in this film, being Bond's first mission).
soundwave05
Member
Solo said:
I'm not disagreeing with that. No one actor is bigger than the Bond character. But MGM/EON definitely coasted off his presence like a sports team that relies on a star player to bail them out of a shitty performance. Brosnan was never given a half decent script after GoldenEye.
soundwave05
Member
I would neccessarily say Diamonds Are Forever or Moonraker work as particularily good films. Moonraker ... OK I guess Moore deserves props for that, but he was always the most comedic of the Bond actors so that tone of film was probably more tailor made for him. Moonraker is more in the "its so campy/silly that's its enjoyable" categorey.
Brosnan also IMO got screwed by some pretty piss poor casting of Bond girls during his era. After GoldenEye I really don't think any one of them was particularily memorable. Though the "I thought Christmas only comes once a year" or whatever line at the end of TWINE was :lol
Brosnan also IMO got screwed by some pretty piss poor casting of Bond girls during his era. After GoldenEye I really don't think any one of them was particularily memorable. Though the "I thought Christmas only comes once a year" or whatever line at the end of TWINE was :lol
soundwave05
Member
Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough weren't entirely terrible now that I think about it ... they just weren't on par with GoldenEye. The last one that Brosnan got was a steaming turd though, especailly that second half. Only Roger Moore could've made that work.
brandonh83
Banned
Solo said:
No doubt. It's not even just a bad Bond movie... it's a bad movie movie. There are so many shitty things about it that it's ridiculous. A CG Halle Berry backdiving off a cliff. WHAT.
soundwave05
Member
The insane thing about DAD is the first half, or maybe first 1/3 of the movie is actually somewhat interesting, lol. Talk about a trainwreck afterwards.
DarkJediKnight
Member
brandonh83 said:
What the heck are you talking about? There is absolutely nothing wrong with the following:
- Spoiled, rich, Korean dude with American accent gets a makeover, becomes shorter, white and has a British accent. Michael Jackson is seething with envy. :lol
- Token "Freak" bad guy turns white skinned and has diamonds implanted in his face from explosions. Still has no superpowers.... or usefullness.
- Car has tiny mirror cameras for invisibility. Even the TIRES!!
- Swordfight scene NOT a ploy to fill-up screen time. A lot was accomplished in that duel to the "first blood".
Oh! And Madonna for best supporting actress for her uncanny delivery of lines.
- Super Sattelite that gives sunlight 24/7 for growing crops! Good Idea! I'm sure those RICH africans will appreciate it. Thus plans fail. Enter....
- THE FRIKKEN NINTENDO POWERGLOVE!!! BY FAR THE GREATEST BOND GADGET NEVER USED BY BOND!!
The biggest WTF moment was when I realized I own the 2 disc special edition DVD.
Cold-Steel
Member
Solo said:
Best. Post. Of. This. Thread.
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