CASINO ROYALE: Daniel Craig's best?

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  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    Craig+Campbell+Cornell=CASINO ROYALE. It's a C-themed Bond film with uniformity...maybe that's why it's so good. It's easily Craig's best Bond film. And since 2006, I Iisten to YKMN at least thrice daily :)>-

    Lol nice, I like that

    Now we know what C stands for :D
  • Posts: 7,507
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    Craig+Campbell+Cornell=CASINO ROYALE. It's a C-themed Bond film with uniformity...maybe that's why it's so good. It's easily Craig's best Bond film. And since 2006, I Iisten to YKMN at least thrice daily :)>-

    Yep. YKMN is an underrated title song.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    jobo wrote: »
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    Craig+Campbell+Cornell=CASINO ROYALE. It's a C-themed Bond film with uniformity...maybe that's why it's so good. It's easily Craig's best Bond film. And since 2006, I Iisten to YKMN at least thrice daily :)>-

    Yep. YKMN is an underrated title song.

    Yeah. But one with huge fans ^:)^
  • Posts: 2,165
    There are some films in the Bond cannon which are just “lightning in a bottle”, all the elements come together to brig something greater than the sum of its parts - FRWL, GF, OHMSS, OP, GE (in my opinion anyway) and CR is definitely that. The fact that I would only remove 10 seconds from the film, if ever given the chance, just prove how incredible the rest is.

    (I would also put SF into the above category).
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    @Mallory Which ten seconds would you remove? The watch talk/product placement?
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited November 2020 Posts: 4,483
    And YKMN is easily one of the best Bond songs (imo). Would have been great to wnd Craig's era with a similar song.
  • Posts: 2,165
    @Mallory Which ten seconds would you remove? The watch talk/product placement?

    You’re very close. The watch talk doesnt bother me as it makes sense in the context of the scene and the conversation (Vesper is slagging Bond off for being a flash bloke with an expensive watch).

    No I would chop out the Ford Mondeo sequence when Bond drives to the Ocean Club. It is shot and scored like a commercial.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited November 2020 Posts: 4,483
    Ok, I can completely understand your point but the Ford never bothered me. I thought that the watch talk was much more forced. The most obvious “in your face“ product placement of CR that took me out of the movie (but only for a very short moment: A) the product placement in MR is much much worse, B) The train sequence still remains a highlight and CR is awesome!)
  • Posts: 3,327
    Mallory wrote: »
    @Mallory Which ten seconds would you remove? The watch talk/product placement?

    You’re very close. The watch talk doesnt bother me as it makes sense in the context of the scene and the conversation (Vesper is slagging Bond off for being a flash bloke with an expensive watch).

    No I would chop out the Ford Mondeo sequence when Bond drives to the Ocean Club. It is shot and scored like a commercial.

    I actually love that scene, probably one of my favourites. It's one of those very upbeat moments in a Bond film, similar to Moore arriving at the lake before the snake fight in MR, or Dalton smiling to himself after throwing a guy and money out of the plane in LTK.

    It helps that the Mondeo scene has a very upbeat Barry sounding score too.

    We need more moments like this in Bond films, instead of dark, gloomy, depressing, shadowy, whispery Mendes type stuff.

    In the Bond books, the sun is nearly always shining, which gives the reader a lift. This needs to be reflected more in the movies too.
  • Posts: 7,507
    Commercial or not, I simply adore the shots of the Ford Mondeo with the music! It oozes modern bondian swagger to me!
  • Posts: 3,327
    jobo wrote: »
    Commercial or not, I simply adore the shots of the Ford Mondeo with the music! It oozes modern bondian swagger to me!

    Exactly!
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    Yes even i love that Mondeo shot.
  • New interview with Martin Campbell, Stuart Baird and the poker expert hired to create the scenes in Casino Royale:



    Interesting read. But the real question is how did Martin Campbell find such an ugly angle to film Daniel Craig from! Woah.....He looks especially bad in that photo. Not a pretty picture in the slightest.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Mallory wrote: »
    @Mallory Which ten seconds would you remove? The watch talk/product placement?

    You’re very close. The watch talk doesnt bother me as it makes sense in the context of the scene and the conversation (Vesper is slagging Bond off for being a flash bloke with an expensive watch).

    No I would chop out the Ford Mondeo sequence when Bond drives to the Ocean Club. It is shot and scored like a commercial.

    I actually love that scene, probably one of my favourites. It's one of those very upbeat moments in a Bond film, similar to Moore arriving at the lake before the snake fight in MR, or Dalton smiling to himself after throwing a guy and money out of the plane in LTK.

    It helps that the Mondeo scene has a very upbeat Barry sounding score too.

    We need more moments like this in Bond films, instead of dark, gloomy, depressing, shadowy, whispery Mendes type stuff.

    In the Bond books, the sun is nearly always shining, which gives the reader a lift. This needs to be reflected more in the movies too.

    Good post. I agree.
  • Posts: 1,917
    Please add me as one who appreciates the Mondeo scene with the music. It never crossed my mind the model of the car. That would be more blatant in several other films, particularly in the Brosnan era and in particular the BMW in GE that is set up just to be driven down a road.

    One of the things I liked best was Arnold's variation on YKMN as Bond drives, one of only a couple of occasions that very effective theme is used throughout the film. It so harkened back to the days when Barry used multiple variations on the theme.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2020 Posts: 7,547
    New interview with Martin Campbell, Stuart Baird and the poker expert hired to create the scenes in Casino Royale:



    Interesting read. But the real question is how did Martin Campbell find such an ugly angle to film Daniel Craig from! Woah.....He looks especially bad in that photo. Not a pretty picture in the slightest.

    Haven’t read this yet but as a fair weather poker player it would have been cool to see some good folds by Bond; I take this sometimes as a hallmark of a really great player.

    For an example, if there was an instance where Bond and his opponent had the opposite hands that Bond and Dimitrios had (so Bond had a set of Kings and would lose to a set of Aces); Bobd analyzes his opponent and makes the good fold, this would have been cool to see. Of course, this is the losing position so I can see why they wouldn’t want to include any of that, but it can show great analytical power to cut your losses when you have a great hand. As it stands, Bond always has the best hand and wins, something anybody can do.
  • Posts: 3,327
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Please add me as one who appreciates the Mondeo scene with the music. It never crossed my mind the model of the car. That would be more blatant in several other films, particularly in the Brosnan era and in particular the BMW in GE that is set up just to be driven down a road.

    One of the things I liked best was Arnold's variation on YKMN as Bond drives, one of only a couple of occasions that very effective theme is used throughout the film. It so harkened back to the days when Barry used multiple variations on the theme.

    I actually think this is one of Arnold's best realised moments, and I have it as one of my ringtones. It's just a shame there isn't that much of it.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,789
    I've commented before the Mondeo scene is a laugh out loud moment for me, just outright fun the way it was presented in sound and vision. And not too soon after Bond is shown improving his lot from Ford rental to Aston Martin ownership. Enjoyable coming and going.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2020 Posts: 7,547
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Please add me as one who appreciates the Mondeo scene with the music. It never crossed my mind the model of the car. That would be more blatant in several other films, particularly in the Brosnan era and in particular the BMW in GE that is set up just to be driven down a road.

    One of the things I liked best was Arnold's variation on YKMN as Bond drives, one of only a couple of occasions that very effective theme is used throughout the film. It so harkened back to the days when Barry used multiple variations on the theme.

    I actually think this is one of Arnold's best realised moments, and I have it as one of my ringtones. It's just a shame there isn't that much of it.

    Where is it in the soundtrack? CCTV? I'll have to listen to the album again.
    EDIT: The end of Blunt Instrument.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    I think the track is Blunt Instrument.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2020 Posts: 7,547
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I think the track is Blunt Instrument.

    Nice, thanks. Added to the playlist!
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I think the track is Blunt Instrument.

    Nice, thanks.

    No problem :-bd
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    I rewatched the moment on youtube: It's a another good track from Arnold and (as mentioned by @BT3366) it's great to have the meldoy of YKNM incorporated. THe other great thing: Beautiful locations all shot in bright colours. That's the way a Bond movie should look like.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    I rewatched the moment on youtube: It's a another good track from Arnold and (as mentioned by @BT3366) it's great to have the meldoy of YKNM incorporated. THe other great thing: Beautiful locations all shot in bright colours. That's the way a Bond movie should look like.

    Agreed.
  • DaltonFanDaltonFan California
    edited December 2020 Posts: 69
    Is Casino Royale a masterpiece? The 2006 version: absolutely! The late 1960's version: Not so much. BTW, When I saw the first version of Casino Royale for the first time on tv all I could think was "Where the hell is Sean Connery?"
  • Posts: 4,409
    I was recently back home when CR was on ITV and I caught my parents watching it. They were initially fawning over Daniel Craig and how "young" he looked. But the object of their affection quickly switched to Eva Green. Both couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful Vesper was.....They aren't wrong.

    Eva-Green-in-Cracks-001.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6774e350197d39104769b4544a0e1f53

    It reminded me that there were a couple of Eva Green films on streaming that I needed to catch-up on. I watched Dark Shadows - it got some hideous reviews, but it's a properly gorgeous film (Tim Burton was always more of a production and costume designer than a director). It's campy light entertainment done well-ish. Eva Green is having a literal blast in the film. Her loud and OTT performance kinda reminded me of Anne Hathaway going for broke. But something about that blonde hair had me hooked. She probably steals the film. She's so sexy...

    Dark-Shadows---Eva-Green--008.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=35eebb176fd9bbd2100dde05f711d268

    I also watched Cracks. Which was one of those films I have been meaning to watch for years, but somehow always fell through the cracks (ahem). Another movie which got crappy reviews, but I really liked it. It's elegantly made and pretty compelling. In Cracks, Eva is the epitome of bohemian cool and gives an interesting performance - at times, she's captivating and so authentic. However, there are moments were she's pretty exaggerated. It made me wonder if Eva is a bit of a ham....Though, it's undeniable that she has a bewitching quality. It's those smoky, marbly eyes and lips.

    tumblr_o1s58hlW2Q1ua7067o2_500.gif
  • Posts: 928
    I'd say Vesper is one of the best-cast characters in the whole series, and Green is a huge reason CR is always #1 or 2 for me.

    She's also perfect in Penny Dreadful and Proxima. I hope there will be many more leading roles for her, whether in Hollywood or Europe.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    I echo a lot of what has been said about CR's drawbacks. Much of it is the production design, as it looks quite dated. The embassy scenes are particularly bad. Everyone harps on the "Ford ad" so no need to go further on that. And Campbell's work in the airport sequence leaves a lot to be desired. The "reveal" of the Skyfleet plane is an unintended laugh-out-loud moment. You'd think we were getting a look at King Kong or something.

    So, not a masterpiece. But...

    1. Daniel Craig provided the greatest performance as Bond in the franchise's history.
    2. The script is terrific.
    3. Greene and Mikkelson are fantastic
    4. The PTS, titles, and tile song are top notch
    5. The ending is spot on

    It remains a solid top 4 Bond film for me. But I think SF is closer to being a cinematic masterpiece.
  • I think it’s pretty safe to say that Casino Royale is the crowning jewel of the series. Everything in the film is just brought to its very best from the cast, to the script, the direction, the production design, the action sequences, the music, and finally a faithful adaptation of the very first novel. I’ll go on a limb and say that my own rankings don’t have CR in my Top 3, but that doesn’t mean anything really. It’s not like my top 3 were receiving all that glorious critical reception. I think it’s no secret that Die Another Day really put the series in a bit of an identity crisis mode. I’ll always be upset that Brosnan never got his fifth film, something that could’ve been more Fleming driven perhaps, but it was probably for the best that the series did a hard reboot. Craig is phenomenal, probably the best debut of a Bond actor (ties with Connery, and Brosnan’s debuts for me), he did an amazing job of making Bond vulnerable, something OHMSS tried to do, but maybe doesn’t do as well (despite my love for the film), and there really isn’t anything I can say about his chemistry with Eva Green, nor hers, or anyone else’s performance in this film. There are very few Bond films that feel like real ensemble pieces, where each character bounces off of each other so well, and Casino Royale is probably the best example of that. In an era where the Bourne films made people look at the original 20 Bond films as passé, Casino Royale really did open the door wide open to an entire new era. It’s legacy is the first interconnected storyline in a Bond film (I have my own opinions on that but I’m going to remain as positive as can be), it gave us the longest running Bond in history (and we’re still waiting for his swan song), and it will no doubt be a huge influence on what comes next in a post Craig era of Bond. But of all the Craig films (so far), Casino Royale is far and away the very best.
  • Posts: 207
    I don't think it's a masterpiece, but definitely top tier.

    Weaker third act compared to the first two, and I wish they had waited to kill Le Chiffre until near the end.
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