the best bond ever (a bit too close to becoming Bourne)

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2006)

As Jason Bourne became re-popular my favorite comment was around how Bond was the spy for adolescent males & Bourne was the one for the mature thinking men. Bond had everything a young kid wanted, the looks, the clothes, the girls, the gadgets, the exotic locations & ridiculous bad guys to battle with(what else would you call Jaws). There were armies of bad soldiers in uniform running around made to order cities that would be (de)populated after the villain had destroyed the world (Diamonds are forever) or sunk silicon valley (A View To A Kill). But then that never happened with James Bond in the picture (pun intended) as he single handedly destroyed the city, the troops, their leader and escaped completely unscathed in a pod that had a double bed & champagne on ice. But all that changed with the arrival of Jason Bourne the anti thesis of Bond.
While Bond always knew who he was & what he wanted Bourne didn't even know his name half way through the 1st movie. He was restless yet calm, confused yet composed, scared yet brave and while battling his ex-employers and police all over the world he was also at battle with himself. Trying to find out who he was and running from what he knew was the dark truth - that he was a killer. What he did not know didn't seem to matter though. He knew how to survive. He spoke every conceivable language, took down a bunch of people with his bare hands, could run flat out for half a mile before his hands started shaking and he even knew how to talk Marie into taking him on a ride across continental Europe. For a post 9/11 generation, he was the real spy, or at least thats what they brought us to believe. And now all that seems to have changed with the arrival of Bond, James Bond a.ka. Daniel Craig.
The new Bond is clearly inspired by Bourne but the base is still Bond. A new character that's half monk & half hit-man (his own interpretation). The new character is a fusion of both to suit the (dark) times we live in while staying true to the essence of what Bond has stood for. He has shed the absurdity & emerged shaken not stirred. The new Bond is much more credible than any of his predecessors have ever been (even Sean Connery). He's darker, grittier, more violent, more blue & blonde & more human in that he gets hurt and bleeds far more often through the movie (although he still does recover with usual 007 pace).
There are no more absurd gadgets and the gadget man 'Q'. Along with Q is gone Mr. Minister, Moneypenny & the comedy. The scripting is taut for most of the time & keeps you at the edge of your seat while eliciting that intelligent laugh once in a while. It does slip for the last 20 minutes when you wonder why the movie is going on still.
The new Bond sticks to his martinis & immaculate suits for most of the time but is also seen in ordinary attire like shirts & pullovers at others. When unclothed, the new Bond is fit as usual, but monogamous (yes, he is in bed with only 1 woman throughout the movie & he actually falls in love with her). The female lead, Eva Green is an accountant & sometimes even looks the part. Judi Dench is back as M but even she is shown to have a life. The villain lead goes to talented Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen who plays a blood weeping numerical genius poker player who is banker to the terrorists. He does not believe in God but rather in a reasonable rate of return. His global operations allow Bond to go from Madagascar to Uganda to Bahamas to Miami & finally to Montenegro with absolute ease while not suffering any jet lag or DVT whatsoever and retain a key execution from earlier Bond movies - the exotic locations.
But above all these major and minor changes, its Daniel Craig who really helps the franchise reinvent itself. All the doubts audiences would have had about his looks, his hair, his eyes are dispelled within the first 15 minutes as he brings the character to life in a manner like never before & in the process established a Bond to appeal to the new generation and allow Paramount to mint money off the franchise for several years to come.
On the movie marketing bit, I must warn you that the product placements are a bit too obvious. Strangely the entire movie happens in a world that only has Ford's brands of cars. The car parks are full of Jaguars, Lincolns, Range Rovers, Volvos and the first car Bond is shown driving is, believe it or not, a Ford Mondeo. All mobile phones are by Sony Ericsson although none of their features other than SMS & large color screen have been highlighted (I guess they don't have too many to brag about : ). Watches continue to be Omega with one exchange between Eva & Daniel going like 'What watch are you wearing Bond? Rolex?' 'No' replies Bond 'Its an Omega'. That would have hurt if I was the Rolex brand manager.
Overall, Casino Royale gets 3 thumbs up from me. I'm going to watch it again sometime this week & you are invited to accompany me.