BOND IS BACK

Yesterday, being in mangalore i was one of the previleged few who could see the preview show of CASINO ROYALE before the rest of the world could see. really mangalore is advantageous in these ways. more than 60% of the people were from infy itself. It would be appropriate to have a swipe in system from the next paid preview shows. It was not as bad as one would have expected and for those who raised doubts abt the new 007 daniel craig. As i do not have the time to type my own review. I copy paste this review from one of the sites.

Here it goes....

Putting behind the outrageous stunts and action scenes that have made the Bond films worldwide favourites for over two decades, Casino Royale nevertheless offers a tense, gripping and entertaining film in which, perhaps for the first time ever, the fabled super spy is seen as bit of a human being. Arguably, it is the best Bond film ever.

Thirty-eight year old Daniel Craig, playing James Bond for the first time, shows that the reputation he had built in a handful of films including Steven Spielberg's Munich will continue to grow.

Casino Royale, which is very likely to continue Bond's enormous spell on the international box office, also offers a raft of fine performances. Judi Dench, the grand dame of the British theatre and a household television name, once again creates a commanding performance as Bond's boss.





The film also benefits considerably by the presence of the magnetic Eva Green who fights hard against Bond's proverbial sex appeal. There are hardly any swimsuit shots in the movie and she is not the classic Bond girl who oozes sex and fires exotic guns.

But Green's allure more than makes up for young women in skimpy clothes. Far from a sex kitten, Green brings electricity and passion to her character. Her interaction with Bond offers plenty of fun and diversion, giving the adventure some humanity.

Seen in small European films, she could become a major international star with this film.

The Sphinx like character Green plays is also vulnerable at times and the script provides for many moments for her and Bond to ooze chemistry. She is also the first woman Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond novels, wrote about, and the film reveals how she came to have great impact on Bond's life and suggests why he behaves the way he does with those women.




Martin Campbell, who also directed Pierce Brosnan in his first outing as Bond in Golden Eye, extracts solid work from Craig whose rugged and brooding personality makes him perhaps the best Bond. Though he is not handsome like Brosnan, Craig still towers over half a dozen actors including the now legendary Sean Connery who have played the reckless and womanising spy in the movies based on Fleming's bestsellers.

One key reason why the new Bond adventure is not over-produced and its fight sequences rely more on Hong Kong style realistic action is because veteran Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are joined by Paul Haggis. He is after all the man who created two atmospheric thrillers and saw them triumph at the box-office. Haggis co-wrote and directed the 2005 best-picture Oscar winner Crash and wrote the screenplay for 2004 Oscar hit Million Dollar Baby for actor-director Clint Eastwood.


The first of the over a dozen Bond books written by Fleming, Casino Royale now has a new and fitting avatar as a film. The first Casino Royale was more of a comic adventure. The disappointing 1967 film starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, Orson Wells, Ursula Andress and Woody Allen was a small success compared to the other gigantic Bond hits.

The last Bond film Die Another Day grossed about $1 billion worldwide four years ago, half of it accruing from video and DVD sales, and cable TV showings and product placements. It would be a big surprise if the new thriller cannot match those figures.

The new movie is the 21st film in the series but since it also happens to be based on the first Bond novel, it offers an introduction to the career of Bond. This is achieved in a few minutes of intense black and white episode right at the start that telegraphs the amorality and arrogance that are the hallmarks of the super agent.

But we also get to see some emotions in the character, and that is no small achievement. It is like some fine novelists like Eric Ambler played an invisible part in rewriting the new movie. ("In this film, James Bond is a darker character, which is how Ian Fleming originally wrote him," says Craig in the production notes of the film. "We start right at the beginning of Bond's career, when he has a lot of rough edges. He's a loner, and he doesn't like to get involved with people. As the movie goes on, though, he becomes more refined.")


The 1950s story is suitably updated from the Cold War era to modern times made more dangerous by sophisticated terrorism.

Soon after the black and white episode leads the proceedings into colour, Bond is seen pursuing a would-be suicide bomber. When he kills an unarmed man in the process, the scene reaches his department M16 in a second thanks to the super Internet age, and Bond gets scolded by his boss M for his out-of-control behaviour. Things become complicated when a desperate Bond breaks into her computer by breaking into her home, and then proceeds in trail of terrorists.




Soon Bond is at a high-stakes poker match in a fictional Montenegro casino and faces Le Chiffre (the fine Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen), a financier of global terrorism who desperately has to win the $100-million stake to pay back his clients' money.

Enter a beautiful and smart treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) assigned to keep tabs on Bond and make sure he's playing according to the rules. Her sarcasm and wit are not lost on Bond who still thinks he can charm her into his bed. But he is also conflicted, wondering if his craving for her is something above lust.

The Parisian-born Green, who made her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's steamy drama The Dreamers, three years ago, is the first woman Bond falls for and by whom he ultimately feels betrayed. The script creates quite a complex Vesper who is full of secrets, and that is one of the many reasons Bond is attracted to her.


Another character that makes the proceedings lively in the American actor Jeffrey Wright who plays, despite being underused, an interesting and a bit mysterious character as a CIA operative.

Before the climactic showdown with Le Chiffre, Bond has to endure torture by his nemesis. Even then the super agent remains defiant, offering Craig a wonderful opportunity to emote well and give the film many more compelling moments. The scenes come with certain amount of cheeky humour and stubbornness, and they are certainly among the film's highlights.

Given its tightly-woven script, terrific performances and various shades of humanity, Casino Royale emerges as one of the genuine triumphs of the year. It is a thriller with a mind and a bit of heart.

In the United States, the film has been given PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, torture, sexual content and nudity. But compared to its predecessors, the 144 minutes-long film has a cleaner and less violent look.