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For decades, the debate among 007 fans has been who is the best Bond — Sean Connery or Roger Moore.Now a new contender has arrived, in the shape of Daniel Craig — the blond 38-year-old, who despite being a cold-blooded killer, manages to fall in love with his Bond girl and show emotional vulnerability.The critics were struggling to contain their excitement last night, ahead of the first British screening of the 21st Bond film, Casino Royale. And when they came out of the showing, they were thrilled. |
Casino Royale (U.K.-Czech
Republic-Germany-U.S.)By TODD
MCCARTHYFor once, there is truth in advertising:
The credits proclaim Daniel Craig as "Ian Fleming's James Bond 007,"
and Craig comes closer to the author's original conception of this
exceptionally long-lived male fantasy figure than anyone since early Sean
Connery. "Casino Royale" sees Bond recharged with fresh toughness and
arrogance, along with balancing hints of sadism and humanity, just as the
fabled series is reinvigorated by going back to basics. The Pierce Brosnan
quartet set financial high-water marks for the franchise that may not be
matched again, but public curiosity, lack of much high-octane action
competition through the holiday season and the new film's intrinsic excitement
should nonetheless generate Bond-worthy revenue internationally. Script by series vets Neal Purvis and Robert
Wade, along with Paul Haggis, hangs together reasonably well and is rewarded
for its unaccustomed preoccupation with character by the attentiveness to same
by director Martin Campbell, back after having helmed the first Brosnan entry,
"GoldenEye," 11 years ago. Dialogue requires Bond to acknowledge his
mistakes and reflect on the soul-killing nature of his job, self-searching
unimaginable in the more fanciful Bond universes inhabited by Brosnan and Roger
Moore. Shrewd and smart as well as gorgeous, Vesper Lynd is hardly the typical
Bond girl (she never even appears in a bathing suit), and Green makes her an
ideal match for Craig's Bond. Danish star Mikkelsen proves a fine heavy, an
imposing man with the memorable flaw of an injured eye that sometimes produces
tears of blood. Giancarlo Giannini has a few understated scenes as a friendly
contact in Montenegro, and while Jeffrey Wright has little to do as CIA man
Felix Leiter, he does get off a couple of the film's best lines, and one can
hope he may figure more prominently in forthcoming installments. Sebastien
Foucan does some eyebrow-raising "free running" stunts in the African
chase. "Casino Royale" is the first Bond in a while that's not
over-produced, and it's better for it. Production values are all they need to
be, and while the score by David Arnold, in his fourth Bond outing, is very
good, the title song, "You Know My Name," sung by Chris Cornell over
disappointingly designed opening credits, is a dud.