Bond, Dead Serious Bond

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2006)

Man, Daniel Craig played Bond dead serious. Oh, a little humor here and there. But he took it in a totally new direction.
If I recall from the books Bond wasn't a guy with a wry sense of humor. He was a pretty serious badass.
Daniel Craig is the first Bond who looks like he could actually hurt you. I mean break you in half. Connery was tough, menacing. But nowhere near as badass as Craig. The guy is friggin' ripped.
I love Connery, Moore, Brosnan, and even the somewhat lame Dalton and Lazenby.
Connery played it tough and serious. Moore played it more charming and he was always my favorite Bond. Lazenby just did his best. And Dalton wasn't really a good fit.
Craig is without a doubt the best actor to play Bond. The one with the most range. I don't think there has been a good Bond film since Moore left the series. But Bond is back with this kickass new film. Can't say I was too jazzed about seeing Lame, uh, sorry, Dame Judi Dench back as M. M is a male character. And if this is a re imagining of the Bond series what's Dench doing back in the series? She always plays the same sourpuss role. She isn't a bad thespian just overrated.
And Martin Campbell as the director? I wasn't too thrilled that he was returning for this installment. I still haven't forgiven him for those uber lame blue screen shots of Brosnan free falling to an descending airplane at the start of GoldenEye. Play the GoldenEye game, avoid the movie. I was hoping for Christopher Nolan as Casino's director. But Marty baby more than exceeded my expectations. The theme song from this Bond flick is one of the best I've heard in years. Good show all around.
Still, there are flaws. Some of the action sequences are tepid, trite and not that interesting. Not bad but nothing spectacular like we've come to expect from past Bond's. And the final action sequence with a collapsing building descending into the sea isn't the greatest. Eva Green as Vesper Lynd though more than holds her own as Bond's counterpart. And the screenwriters maintain a good chunk of Fleming's original story in the flick.
I was a tad bummed Pierce wasn't borough back for another Bond movie. But in all honesty, I dug him as Bond but not the films he starred in. When it got to where they were giving Bond lame invisible cars. Well, it was time for him to go. Just as well, Pierce gave us one of his best film performances ever with The Matador shortly after that. Moore made one Bond film too many and should have gotten out earlier when he got a bit too weathered for the role. Fate stepped in and saved Pierce from that.
But. Casino Royale. Best Bond in a long time, baby. Nowhere near groundbreaking as Nolan's re imagining of Bats. But in the general ballpark. Ciao.