"The Name's Bond. James Bond."
The last words of Casino Royale pretty much sum up the film. Especially considering that it was a prequel to the other films starring the greatest spy to ever spy: James Bond. My original viewing of Casino Royale left me in a state of awe that took me the entire opening weekend to get out of. My most recent viewing, in order to review it for this blog, brought about some new knowledge and observations that I hadn't noticed before. Especially in terms of the actual story of Casino Royale.
At first glance, this movie seems to be nothing more than "another Bond film" with another actor playing the infamous spy. Though, while I'll admit that my Inner Male was in love with the action sequences and stunts that came from awesome team behind Casino Royale, it was the story of how he became Bond that truly kept my interest.
I won't bore everyone with the details of how the plot progresses and the climax. It's a Bond film. He has sex with women, beats some people up, gets caught, uses gadgets and saves the world. That's what happens every time. In this movie, though, we get to see how this became the formula for a James Bond film. What makes this film different than the other ones, I think, is the way the story is told. It comes off different than most action films. It opens with a mysterious conversation and James getting his second of two kills needed to become "00" status within MI6. Which, for the record, shouldn't be confused with MI5. Anyway, the entire movie shows the evolution of James. He goes from being a new agent with more emotions than he should have to a man that doesn't have anything to lose. Which hints at the overconfident, devil may care attitude that the other films have filled James Bond with.
Casino Royale is a mystery as much as it's an action movie. While the audience knows who the villain is and what the villain is after, there are still so many different twists and turns that you can't help but to go along for the ride or try to keep up. The card game that the movie is named for isn't even the most exciting part of the movie... and it's not even the end. It sparks a whole new set of problems that James has to deal with in order to keep himself alive and complete the mission. In the process, James has to rid the world of a woman that he was growing to love. It puts a damper on the rest of his life and provides a history to his womanizing ways.
If you haven't seen Casino Royale, I highly recommend it. If not for the action packed sequences and awesome stunts, but for the story of how random agent from MI6 becomes a legend. It's a story that's been told over and over, but this story has heart. And without that, you don't have a film worth the reel it's printed on.
But that's just one man's opinion.
- Jason "Double-0-Token" Newbern
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1 comment:
This entry does a good job of recounting the strong suits of a Bond film, and lets us know how the Bond character progresses. However, I wonder how you might connect the issues you present here to the questions of narrative structure more broadly. How do these key elements of Bond's character get revealed in the context of the three acts? How do these more complex character traits relate to the familiar Bond storyline (women, gadgets, saving the world, etc...)
Also, I'd say that you're still working a bit too much in the realm of evaluative claims vs. interpretive claims.
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