CommanderBond.net

Ed Harris give us his last first look (for a while anyway).

First Looks Part VI:
Every Legend has a Beginning

Daniel Craig is
Ian Fleming's James Bond 007
in Casino Royale

Yet another great article. Though I don't find the fault that he does with the title sequence and the Venice finale, the piece is a wonderful read and a great conclusion (for now) to the First Look series. Well done!!

Well done, Genrewriter!! An excellent read!

Thanks. It took a while longer than I expected but I am very pleased with how the series turned out.

Most definitely. Some of my favorite editorials here.

Great job, Ed! Keep up the good work.

Fantastic stuff, Genrewriter. Informative and appetite-whetting (not that we haven't all seen the film, but, well, you get the idea ), and also very well-written. What's more, I agree with virtually all your points.... well, apart from "You Know My Name" not being up to much - personally, I think it's terrific.

Anyway, a very good read that's inspiring me to go back and take another look at your other First Looks.

Very good review, I agree 100%, unlike that head who accused Craig of having a bowl haircut.

Great read, Genrewriter (not only this article, but your entire First Look series).

A truly fantastic article Genrewriter! Really efreshing to read such a marvellous account of what is, as you said, "easily one of the best debuts for a new 007" Surely only Goldeneye can be considered a viable contender for best debut, in my opinion anyway!

I particularly enjoy your discussion of "shaking up", which I have to admit was probably the key feature of the movie in tht it was a good move away from some of the typical conventions of the Bond movies. The pre-titles sequence is definitely "gorgeous" as you described, and is probably the highlight of the film, in that it really lays down what kind of a Bond Daniel Craig intends to portray. only Timothy Dalton has come close to presenting such a hardened Bond, and the pre-title sequence really does, as you said, "introduces us to our new James Bond in a stark, brutal manner."

However, I have to disagree with you about the quality of 'You Know My Name'! It is by far the best title song since 'Live And Let Die', a song which also assists in presenting a harder Bond, with it's "come and have a go" connotations.

Nevertheless, I agree with your views on the presentation of Le Chiffre and Mr. White, which is filmed brilliantly, creating an atmosphere and setting up the plot loosely, leaving the viewer with much to think about before the entire plot unravels.

I particulaly agree with your observation on Bond's determination in the free-running sequence. It is clear to see that the only thing keeping him going is brute determination to catch Mollaka, and i am pleased you made note of this, as it is also a key attribute for Daniel Craig's Bond. I expect we'll see more of this 100% dedication to the job-in-hand in Quantum Of Solace.

"The next two scenes are nice, lean moments establishing Le Chiffre’s physical quirk (weeping blood, now there’s a nice bit of weirdness that’s been missing from the series for the most part)" Well said. When was the last time we had a real freak of a villain? Trevelyan's face was severely scarred, but you can't really term that freaky. I suppose it was probably Scaramanga's third nipple! (Apologies to any CBN members possessing a third nipple!)

"M’s first scene is also nice as it provides a slightly different take on the woman we’ve seen before." Agreed. This M seems to have a real mouth on her, I hope we see more of this in future Bond films, as it's very entertaining.

"What makes this film so great is that in the span of just under two and a half hours, we see virtually every facet of Bond’s personality." i think that sums it up really. Well observed. You're also right about the public's familiarity with hold 'em, rather than baccarat, and the change is just right, especially for a society thast is becoming increasingly attracted to gambling in the 21st century.

"This leads us to the torture scene, probably the most difficult scene of the book to get right. Done incorrectly, it could have been either ridiculous or simply repellent and impossible to watch." Definitely, this was always going to be a problem, but I agree that it works very well on screen without glamorising mindless violence, which Bond is not about, but still maintaining realism and keepng with Fleming's original gritty novel.

Does the film slowing down not annoy you? I find the 'litle finger' scene slightly irritating in that I don't really like seeing Bond reduced to complete mush, rather than he could fall in love but still be hard as nails. The venice scene is brilliant though, a great way to end a movie that hadn't see any real action since the staircase battle. With any lok, we'll see another tense scene like this in Quantum Of Solace.

All in all, a sound article my friend.

You know, this is the first time I noticed there really isn't an action scene between the stairway fight and Venice... and I didn't mind at all. For me, the relationship between Bond and Vesper is a big part of what sets this Bond film apart from the others. So no, the slowing down did not annoy me, because I was completely engaged the whole time, which never happened to me during Brozza's films. (I know that question wasn't put to me, but I felt compelled to answer anyway. )

No worries! It didn't annoy me incredibly, it's just that I found bond getting a little too loved up, and it kind of unravelled this hard edge we'd seen all the way through the movie. But it was nicely re-worked in after her death, and he's back to his old self again on the boat.

I have a few minor disagreements with it but apart from that, nice article, Genewriter. I've enjoyed this series.